Romania Has a “Witch Tax,” Swaziland Regulates Broomstick Flight at Heights Above 150 Meters

After the Romanian government expanded its tax code to include the occupations of witch, fortuneteller, and astrologer in 2011 as part of a larger program to increase revenues during a rough financial period, some vowed magical retribution, according to the Associated Press. A coven gathered on the shores of the Danube River and threw toxic mandrake into the water, claiming the spells would work against the government and president, who planned to make them remit 16 percent of their already-scant incomes. Bratara Buzea told the Associated Press she was going to use a potent mixture of deceased canine and feline fecal matter in a separate spell of her own. “We do harm to those who harm us,” she told the AP.

After the tax bill passed, Romanian legislators also drafted a law that would punish witches for incorrectly predicting the future. Buzea again disagreed with the move. “They can’t condemn witches, they should condemn the cards,” she said.

More about this, and four other countries where sorcery is taken seriously enough to be a matter of legislation, at the Atlantic.

Photo via germana/flickr