Printer's school protest t-shirt labeled front for tax fraud

In his computer he has a collection of photos of "green wave" protest t-shirts. Some have square letters; others, names of Madrid districts in a corner; yet others lack the stick figures. "See? They have copied it all over the place. Not all of them came from here." Isidro Pérez, owner of a silk-screen printing shop and member of a pro-public education group, cannot decide whether he is angry or scared.

The Popular Party (PP) has aired his name in connection with a supposed tax evasion in the sale of the green t-shirts in favor of free public education, and against the regional government's recent cutbacks which have seen teachers out on strike. Pérez designed the logo, and makes the t-shirt in his shop.

PP regional premier Esperanza Aguirre went so far as to say that people were making "big business" out of selling the t-shirt without filing tax returns. One party member actually filed a complaint about "tax evasion."

"They want to squash a symbol that has made the protest visible to everyone," says Pérez, proudly wearing the t-shirt in front of one of his machines. "It's no fun to have your name mentioned in connection with corruption."

His Madrid store is a former garage of 300 square meters, crowded with boxes and manned by eight employees, four fewer than before the crisis. "It yields a living, not much more." Pérez estimates that some 3,000 "green wave" t-shirts have come off his machines. The original run, in the color Kelly Green, is sold out. "We are waiting for more dye to come from England." He has registered the design, "before some smart-ass does, to make a fast buck out of it. The design is free for anyone to use. I make less than a euro per shirt."

The PP's complaint is based on the claim that the protest associations sell these shirts without a VAT ticket. Revenue Department inspectors confirm that this is indeed obligatory, but that infractions are a mere misdemeanor that would not disqualify such an association from obtaining public subsidies, as the PP demands.

"The substitute teachers' association has ordered sweaters, because this is going to go on into the cold weather," he says, opening a new case. Other groups want t-shirts for a coming campaign in favor of the public health system, but have not yet settled on a slogan. Perhaps it's time they taxed their imagination.