In vetoing the tax May 12, the president issued a stern statement accusing filmmakers of wanting state help for "commercial" art, which he said is unfair to artists in other genres, such as music, painting and architecture.

What's more, he decried the idea of a newly created film commission distributing the funds, arguing that it might (sigh) impose European culture on the presumably endangered Czech cultural identity.

The film-fund idea, backed by organizations like the Audiovisual Producers' Association and the Czech Film Center, would tax cinemas, home video distributors and commercial television stations from 2 to 3 percent on their revenues in order to rejuvenate the Czech Cinematography Fund. Industry estimates put the predicted result at $6.6 million (146 million Kč), more than double the existing state funds available for film.

Europhobia aside, Klaus may just have a point.

In France, you can make a film about "two people arguing in a kitchen," as one critic recently put it, and expect state cultural funding to underwrite your work. In Germany, try asking a director what his budget is and you may get a surprising response: "I have no idea. My producer won't tell me."

That's because an entire echelon of German producers have figured out how to game the country's film-subsidy system and are not eager to see transparency rear its head anytime soon. Some, according to one veteran filmmaker there, commonly tell the authorities that a certain film will cost, say, $3 million and are able to generate paperwork that makes it appear as if this much was spent. In reality, the film cost $2 million, of course, with the rest managing to disappear into vague expenses that only the producer really understands and monitors.

Nor is there any pressure for subsidized films in much of Europe to recoup any of their expenses at the box office. Many, in fact, are never released at all — nor are they ever really intended for release.

"You make your living making the film, then move on to the next one," said the award-winning director in question.

There's no arguing that one of Europe's greatest strengths is the value it places on culture and diversity. The idea of an artist or professor as president does not inspire open derision as it would in the States, and it's actually possible for a filmmaker with an interesting idea to get a start. Voters, who fund such endeavors with their taxes, are willing and able to do so and take some pride in that fact.

But the system must be transparent, fair (to the extent it ever can be in the subjective world of developing art and culture), and accountable to the public.

If Klaus is suspicious that the proposed tax and film commission for the Czech Republic would not be, that's probably a good instinct.