It’s not only American TEA Party members who are fed up with taxes. Witches in Romania, angered over having to pay income taxes for the first time, threw poisonous mandrake instead of tea into the Danube River in protest. They also cast spells on Romanian president Traian Basescu, who reportedly wears purple every Thursday to ward off evil spirits.

 “Romania's newest taxpayers also included fortune tellers - but they probably should have seen it coming,” cracked Associated Press reporter Alison Mutler.

Under the new tax law, which was rejected by Romania’s Senate last fall, witches, astrologers, fortune tellers and other self-employed ministers of the occult will have to hand over 16 percent of their income to the cash-strapped government and start making contributions to Romania’s health and pension funds. The witches are also upset because they will now have to produce receipts of all transactions and be held liable for their predictions.

Bummer. That could put a major crimp in the crystal-ball crowd’s lifestyle.

Queen witch Bratara Buzea, who was imprisoned for witchcraft in 1977 by Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, told AP she would “do harm to those who harm us” by casting a spell using cat excrement and a dead dog, which is a pretty good metaphor for Romania’s economy – which shrank a dismal 7.1 percent last year.