Lie & Let Lie

In Italy they have an old custom which allows a taxpayer to declare his own income for purposes of local taxation, subject to correction by a commission of his fellow citizens. The tendency is to lie and let lie. In the town of Guastalla (pop. 6,000), which sprawls peacefully along the banks of the Po River, the president of the local tax commission is a Communist. Professor Remo Salati, who wears a double-breasted suit like Communist Leader Togliatti and imitates Togliatti's manner of talking, also has access to federal tax returns in which taxpayers, in the face of stringent new tax laws, assess their incomes more realistically.

Noting a glaring discrepancy between what the townspeople told the local government and the federal government, Communist Salati sent a card around to taxable townsfolk notifying them that their local taxes had been revised sharply upward. In most cases, taxes would be three times as high.

Next day hundreds crowded city hall, sure that there must be some mistake. But there wasn't. The mayor called a meeting of protest, but the Socialist-Communist majority on the town council upheld Salati's assessments. Then a strange thing occurred in the quiet town of Guastalla. Businessmen and shopkeepers called for a six-hour strike against Salati. Every bar and shop in town closed. Local factories sent their workers home. Buses ceased running. Even the Communist-run cooperative store shut its door (for this, Manager Affro Tavernelli was later relieved of his party card). Guastalla became a ghost town.

When Salati heard that the bar run by the Communist welfare organization had closed, he ordered it reopened. Not a customer appeared until 5, when Salati himself showed up for a coffee. "I am sorry, comrade," said the barman, "but there's no pressure in the coffee machine." Salati settled for a warm orange squash. Later the local newspaper, which had also closed down for the six hours, crowed: "The first strike of its kind in Italy. A complete success."

At week's end, Communist Taxmaster Salati was still standing his ground--but so were Guastalla's taxpayers.

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