Tax deduction in Oz drug money

A HEROIN dealer can claim a €135,000 tax deduction for cash that was stolen during a drugs transaction, a court ruled today.

The Australian Taxation Office had been trying to make Francesco Dominico La Rosa pay tax on his 1994-95 income, which it estimated at €290,000.

But La Rosa, from Perth Western Australia, insisted his taxable income should be reduced because half that sum had been stolen.