WE WON’T PAY YOUR POLL TAXES! WE SHALL BRING ABOUT YOUR DOWNFALL!
The poll tax that the PASOK government pushed through Parliament, with its notorious “special tax on real estate,” represents the summit of the taxation raid and of social barbarism at the expense of the workers and the masses of the people, who already live on the brink of ruin. Even before this there was tremendous anger about the imposition of the “special tax” and the “special business tax” which had been levied in the medium-term program last June. It is estimated that the total burden for an average family will be considerably more than €1000—and this in a phase where wages and pensions have been brutally cut, unemployment is rising sharply, hundreds of thousands of layoffs are being prepared in the public sector by jobs being “left vacant.”
The brazenness of the government is beyond all measure, and once again the majority of society is its victim. While the government starts talking to the owners of the shipping companies asking them how they could “contribute to the national efforts” (!), it reduces the tax rate on corporate profits to 20%, continues its unlimited exemptions and tax breaks for capital in the name of “growth,” delivers €110 billion to the banks, sells off the accumulated public wealth for a mess of pottage, and mercilessly ruins the unemployed and pensioners, the workers, freelancers, and small farmers. Two years after the introduction of the memorandum policy, the government refers to “empty coffers” in order to hunt and to collect taxes. Thus it shows that its own policy is completely bankrupt. It is facing total collapse!
We call on the workers and the entire Greek population—with support from the mass movement—to engage in mass disobedience against the previous and the new poll tax. Nobody, no worker, no unemployed, no self-employed person should pay the “special contributions” and the “special tax.” In addition, retroactive surcharges on already-taxed income are unconstitutional and repesent a mockery of any notion of tax fairness.
This fight is not an individual struggle but a collective one that should be organized. It is part of the general struggle of the people to overthrow the wretched PASOK government and its partners: the right ND (New Democracy) and the radical right-wing LAOS—the troika. The Medium Term Program and the policy of capital, which aims at abolishing all rights of working people and at imposing all of the consequences of the capitalist crisis on the masses, must be abolished. We can bring about its downfall! The potential is revealed by the massive and angry demonstration during the international fair in Thessaloniki on September 10. The conditions for a further escalation are taking shape, which will be much stronger than the nearly insurgent strikes and mobilizations during the public-square occupations of June.
We call on all unions, scientific associations and professional associations, students at the University of occupations, the movement of civil disobedience to declare “WE WILL NOT PAY!” The popular assemblies of the cities and neighborhoods should refuse the new poll tax through collective decisions, leading to continuous mobilizations. They should actively support their members in the refusal to pay. For the development of a broad campaign of strikes and movements with the aim of overthrowing the government, together with all the other butchers, EU, IMF and their lackeys!
ANTARSYA will participate with all its forces in this fight!
ANTARSYA - Anti-Capitalist Left alliance for the overthrow, Sep 15, 2011
IT’S ENOUGH! THE HOUR OF THE RISING HAS COME!
The government has crossed all limits. It’s not enough that the workers, the unemployed, the young people, pensioners and professionals are plunged into misery—Finance Minister Venizelos went so far as to announce in Parliament—we should also be happy to be “under control”! The PASOK government and the interests of capital that it represents, in absolute harmony with the Troika, felt extremely positive shortly before announcing their slaughter package! The humiliation is almost perfect. At the same moment as their policy becomes bankrupt, and as working families are driven into bankruptcy, the holy alliance of government, the EU, and the IMF want to make us believe that there is no other way to save the country from bankruptcy. In reality they are the ones who lead us into bankruptcy under the control, and according to the terms of, the banks and multinational companies, the EU and the Greek industrialists (SEV).
There is another path, the path of the anti-capitalist break with the ruling order, in order to impose the interests of working people:
– by stopping the payments to the bankers and the cancellation of debt,
– by withdrawing from the euro zone and leaving the EU,
– by the nationalization of banks, state-owned enterprises and enterprises of strategic importance under workers’ control and without compensation,
– through a radical redistribution of wealth, by increasing wages, pensions and public spending in order to cover social needs and to create jobs
– by an adequate capital tax and the redistribution of profits
– through the cancellation of bank debts for those without vast fortunes, and for the unemployed.
WE WON’T PAY YOUR POLL TAXES! WE SHALL BRING ABOUT YOUR DOWNFALL!
The unified mass political movement will open the way, an uprising of all workers and of the entire population is needed here and now! With unlimited strikes and a nationwide general strike, with occupations as they have already begun in the ministries, with militant demonstrations, and with the democratic coordination of the branches that started fighting and of the rank and file basic trade union units, things can move beyond the bureaucratic leaderships of GSEE (private sector) and ADEDY (public service). Through the united struggle of student occupations and unlimited strikes we can win! It is time for a popular uprising that will lead to the overthrow of the government of shame, that will unshackle the rule of EU, IMF and capital and that will seal the defeat of the black bloc of PASOK, ND and LAOS. All the forces of the Left and the movement involved in the struggles must contribute through their joint action to an unprecedented revolutionary movement.
ANTARSYA fights for the abolition of capitalist barbarism as a whole and is involved with all its forces in the current conflict.
ANTARSYA, 21 Sep 2011