David McNelis (dmcnelis) wrote, @ 2003-11-12 11:04:00

Courtesy of Wendy T.

Aussie council green lights vomit tax
A vomit tax has been given the go ahead in Northern Victoria, Australia. It will apply to licensed hotels in the Greater Shepparton area which remain open between 3:00 and 6:00am. The tax increases of up to 11% will be used to pay for cleaning up the mess left by drunks who are often sick in the street.

It has been introduced after complaints by shopkeepers who say the late-night drinkers also vandalise their properties. But hotelier Ray Sharawara says politicians shouldn't assume hotel drinkers are responsible for the mess. He told ABC news: "I think the problem is larger than that. I think the council are not really facing all the facts. "They're being, I'd say, emotional and trying to appeal to people's emotions to get this tax through."

But Mayor Chris Hazelman said: "I've had an enormous amount of support and feedback from the broader community saying the council needs to do something."


Verification of this article can be found here, here and here.

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