A NEW TAX ON TRASH

Workers Press no. 707, 7 March 1972 · scan pages 6, 7

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Literary 'trash' is the target of a new tax recently introduced in the Yugoslav rerublic of Serbia.

The law-which gives the Tito bureaucracy a rather obvious means cf enforcing control over books, magazines, brochures and newspapers, provides for a 31.5per-cent levy on what are termed publications'.

According to Tanyug, the Yugoslav official news agency, 'many of the questions concerning the cultural significance and effect of this "fiscal cultural" move of the republican administration still remain undefined and wide open'.

The tax aroused a heated discussion at a recent gathering of several dezen 'cultural and public workers' at the Serbian Cultural and Educational Association. Their meeting was called mainly to draw up and comment on the preliminary list of 'specially valuable' publications which are to be exempted from the tax. into the category trash and All other publications are taxed under the law.

Some of the delegates at the meeting pointed out that there was precious little 'cultural' motive behind the tax, which was primarily aimed at raising

êt, ș ÷, # Isis. abandoned the workers and the 118 Prese, Tuesday March 7, 1972 PA