An imprisoned French drug dealer has been told to pay €80,000 in taxes on money he earned from selling heroin, his lawyer has said.
The bill is based on the man’s estimated earnings through heroin deals between 2008 and 2011 and even takes into deductions for transport costs.
“They addressed my client as a micro-entrepreneur [self-employed freelancer],” lawyer Samira Boudiba told AFP on Monday. “They are levying on his drug trafficking since 2008 based on estimated turnover."
“It is quite extraordinary,” she added. “How can you tax a business that’s completely illegal?”
In the letter sent to the man, who was convicted of drug trafficking offences in March last year and is currently serving a four-year sentence in Nancy in eastern France, the French tax authorities outline a detailed estimate of his earnings.
They base their calculations on a price of €15 for a gram of heroin, while making allowances of the dealer’s personal use of his stash.
“Your personal consumption [of heroin] has been evaluated at four grams per day, and that quantity can be deducted [from the bill],” said the letter.
Val says - Sorry but I like it, what a great story, imagine the drug pedlar being indignant that he has to pay his taxes. I am surprised that any money the man has was not summarily taken from him- the message "crime does not pay"
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