Class warfare from the Right
2010-08-10
Even the rich will have to admit soon that the tax policies of the
new Czech government are disproportionately aimed at the
middle and lower classes. The Kè 100 monthly reduction in the
standard income-tax deduction, the increase in the lower VAT
rate, the 50% tax on construction-savings subsidies, the
increase in some healthcare fees - these are all things that will
be barely noticed by the upper classes. At the same time, high
wage-earners will benefit from a lower cap on social-security
tax and will get to keep their relatively low marginal income-tax
rate. The Neèas government has never stated explicitly that it
wants to incite a class war, but many of the moves it is taking
give this impression. If you recall, one of the arguments against
another government of Jiøí Paroubek was the fear that ÈSSD and
the Communists would gang up on the rich. But is there a
substantial difference between a class war initiated by the Left
and one initiated by the Right? Either way, the impact on Czech
society would be similarly destructive.
[Czech Republic Petr Social Democrats]
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