Tax on coffee in Greece
In 2010 Greece was bankrupt. Rather than accept reality, the largest ever loan, a classic case of extend and pretend. Only it was far worse, the loan was to bail out German and French banks.
One year later, a second loan, to service the first loan.
A death-debt spiral. The economy collapsed.
Syriza was elected, a radical government to challenge the EU.
Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis attempted to negotiate a better deal. He was blocked by the Troika, betrayed by his own Prime Minister.
Greece could not be allowed to succeed. It would encourage other countries to challenge the EU.
Yanis Varoufakis refused to sign a surrender document. He resigned.
Worse conditions were imposed on Greece. One of which a tax on coffee.
On imported coffee, a tax of 2 euros on green beans, 3 euros on roasted beans.
As Yanis Varoufakis describes in Adults in the Room, it is on the shoulders of the poorest and weakest in society the taxes fall.
A campaign of mass civil disobedience has been organised, direct action against the Troika.
The surrender document, the Memorandum of Understanding, is not only turning Greece into a debt colony of the EU, it is denying Greeks democracy and stripping them of their dignity.
When Yanis Varoufakis was finance minister, he assembled a small secret group, The Untouchables. Analysing bank transfers they identified 470,000 tax dodgers. They were offered an amnesty, voluntarily pay your tax at a low rate of 15%, if not we prosecute. This would have brought in billions of euros of unpaid taxes. A condition of the next loan to Greece, abolish this group.
Empires rely on local elites, war lords and oligarchs, grant them the trappings of power and they can be relied upon to oppress their own people. That is how the EU functions. The oligarchs work on behalf of the European Deep State, the Troika in turn protects the oligarchs.
Buy a kilo of coffee at 25 euros, half goes to Cafe Justicia, a cooperative in Guatemala, and half to support grassroots coops in Greece.
The coffee will be brought into Greece and distributed by the local coops.
The supply end will be Cafe Justicia.
