On April 28 at noon, citizens gathered in front of the Macedonian Parliament to protest the Public Revenue Office's tax on income earned abroad. The demand for tax payments from Macedonians working outside the country has triggered a wave of anger - and today that anger spilled onto the street.

The protest was organized without political backing - citizens, not parties. Many of those who got the demands from the tax office are young people who left for abroad, work and pay tax there, and now face a demand for double taxation. The legal basis is contested, and for many the tax office's move came without any prior warning.

The Interior Ministry announced a special traffic regime in the center of Skopje - the street in front of Parliament blocked. That alone tells you the protest isn't small.

Macedonia has been losing population for decades. People leave because there are no conditions at home. And when they leave, the state wants a cut of what they earn outside. Whether that's fair - or a recipe for an even bigger exodus - is a question Parliament still hasn't answered clearly.