Death and Taxes

"In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes," Benjamin Franklin quoted.

God bless everyone and please don't take it as my curse but for Georgian TV workers nothing else is certain but death.

As Vazha Zazevich used to say: "Have heard of everything: irresponsibility, non-professionalism, selling soul and body, cheating society, "simulated Kronika", executing order s by the authorities, quitting TV in protest 9 not have just herd, did it myself), neglecting any kind of ethics for money...

But such a thing! Writing GEL 36 mln debt off ?! Why and what for?

Has any of them improved the quality of broadcasting? Have they at least learned anything on their own mistakes?

If any of you is not updated - Upon the decision by the parliament of Georgia an amendment has been made to the Tax Code according to which all the TV companies in Georgia shall be written off the debts (GEL 36 mln in total) accumulated until March 1, 2010.

What is that? An incentive? Or something much discussed but never completely spoken out?

Some say regional TV companies are going to benefit from this privilege.

That might be right but this privilege will be like a pension granted by the US government to Donald Trump alongside with the other old.

Everyone is of course well aware who, for who and why this decision was made.

But let's think - what the tax amnesty is going to result into? That might be a positive event that I can't understand? Will the TVs free from the state arrears be more independent?

I doubt since the first thing amnesty is going to result into will be a more severe and stronger syndrome of impunity.

And besides you know the written off debt is same as paying money and the payer is usually who orders the music.

As far as we are concerned amnesty is a legal term and after applying it in criminal law the 40% of repeated commission of offence is being observed, to be more clear as a result of the amnesty 40% of the released repeatedly commit crimes.

Why do you or the authors of the amnesty think that criminal law practice is not going to cover TVs? And we shouldn't forget the Georgians are maximalists and if the index of the second offense is 40% anywhere else in the world, it's gonna be 100% at our side.

Whatever our televisions have been so far doing deserve very severe sanctions instead of the financial amnesty. If a criminal offense is being concerned we'd better recollect "simulated" Kronika having sacrificed the lives of several people, as they say.

But as we see instead of sanctions our state decided to incite them and nullified their debts.

I wonder why?

The GPB case (Georgian Public Broadcasting alias First Channel - again citing Vazha Zazaevich" these two titles are gonna kill me) seems most surprising to me - this TV is being funded from the state budget and now what? The state giving money to the public broadcaster from the budget has written the taxes off so that the broadcaster didn't pay tax to the budget?

To tell the truth I was very confused...

If so this year GEL 36 mln less will be paid to the state budget and God only knows what the amnestied/pardoned Georgian TV air is preparing for us.

Early in the 20st century the word famous Mafioso Al Capone having killed several hundreds of people was arrested for taxes.

When thinking about it one question crosses my mind - if the US government had written the taxes off of that prominent Al Capone who knows how many more lives he would sacrifice.

Al Capone died in Alcatraz prison.

See you!

P.S. The last part of the Godfather directed by Francis Ford Coppola features a dialogue between one of the old Mafiosos and Vincenzo Corleone (Andy Garcia starring):

- You're a man of finance and politics, things I don't understand - says Vincenzo.

- You understand guns. Finance is a gun. Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger - the old man replies.