Drug dealer sent tax bill in prison

Inmate charged €80,000 income tax, but treasury does include deductions for transport - and personal consumption

A PRISONER has received an €80,000 tax bill for the earnings he made while dealing heroin.

His lawyer, Samira Boudiba, said the bill included deductions for transport costs and personal consumption for three years of drug dealing.

“They addressed it to my client as a micro-entrepreneur. They’re levying on drug trafficking, since 2008 and giving him a turnover – it’s completely extraordinary,” he told Libération.

The tax office based their calculations on €15 for a gram of heroin, deducting 4g a day for personal consumption and a further €2,000 a year for expenses related to the use of a personal vehicle for business.

“How can you levy taxes on a business that is completely illegal?” he added, saying that he would be taking the matter to France’s constitutional council.

The dealer was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this year and is currently being held in Nancy. The authorities have already confiscated €40,000 in cash.