Drug Dealer Can Claim $165 Million Deduction For Stolen Cash

[jeffrey]

From abcnews.go.com

An Australian court ruled Wednesday that a convicted heroin dealer can claim a $165 million tax deduction for money that was stolen during a drug deal.

The Australian Taxation Office lost a bid in the High Court to overturn a lower court decision that Francesco Dominico La Rosa of Perth, the capital of Western Australia state, could write off the money as lost income.

The ATO had been trying to make La Rosa who served a 12-year jail term for dealing heroin and amphetamines pay tax on his 1994-95 income, which it estimated at $337,000.

But La Rosa insisted his taxable income should be reduced because half that sum had been stolen.

The $165 million had been buried in La Rosa's backyard and was dug up to spend on a drug deal in May 1995, but was stolen during the transaction by unknown people, the court was told... Entire Story Here