A protest against the introduction of property tax was held in Split this weekend, and despite the subject at hand, it was barely given any attention…
On Sunday, September the 10th, 2017, the people of Split gathered to protest against the latest tax increases in Croatia. After many years, Croats have finally decided to come together and protest against the corrupt politics of the current leading party, HDZ. Namely, this is just one more tax burden on an already heavily taxed people.
The new tax (real estate tax) would be particularly burdensome for the aging segment of the population. In Croatia, people pay taxes on purchased property in full when they buy the property; therefore, Croats see this new tax as though they are paying the same tax twice. Even tourists can witness the despairing level of poverty in a city like Split, where many older people are left to dig through the trash for food and bottles to supplement their income.
People in Croatia are typically slow to protest, yet, increasing corruption has driven people to the streets in greater numbers. This comes as a result of ever increasing taxes, and people are angry and scared about their future. Marija (name changed for protection), a 35 year-old woman from Split who is self-employed, said about the real estate tax, “This new tax is extremely unfair. The thieves in the HDZ want to tax us for property we already own, what some people have owned for generations. We have some of the highest taxes in Europe, particularly when it comes to the added value tax, and people have had enough. The other problem is that the government wants to tax people that don’t have anything left. What are they going to do? They keep increasing taxes, yet, what services that the government provides for us are terrible. Many of the taxes we pay we get nothing from.”
Marija was one of about 2,000 participants in Sunday’s protest in Split. The turnout at the protest was encouraging and more and more people are attending such protests.
Furthermore, the age range of participants was also encouraging and varied widely. Young and old came to Split’s famous Riva area to voice their disapproval and concern at the government’s latest actions. The actions of the HDZ are driving the elderly to despair and the young out of Croatia to seek better opportunities abroad.
Croats are organising these protests in hopes that the rest of the country will wake up and condemn the actions of the increasingly callous actions of the current government and that the rest of Europe will be aware of what is happening here.
Text by Daniel Jones
