COURT GIVES TAX BREAK TO DRUG RUNNER

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A Dutch court has added a new item to the
list of activities eligible for tax relief -- drug running.

Judges in the central city of Arnhem recently declared that a
professional fisherman convicted of smuggling drugs could deduct the
cost of buying and shipping hashish to the Netherlands from his income
on his tax return, national daily De Telegraaf reported Tuesday.

"We disagree with the local court, so we will go to the Supreme Court
to appeal," said Tax Service spokesman Marcel Homan. He did not know
when the Supreme Court would issue a final ruling in the case.

Homan declined to give further details, citing privacy
rules.

The Telegraaf reported that the smuggler, whose identity was not
released, appealed to the Arnhem court after being slapped with a
euro3.3 million ($4.4 million) tax bill.

The court ruled that because he had only been convicted of drug
running and not trading in drugs he could deduct the cost of buying
and transporting the drugs on his tax form. That cut his tax bill to
euro1.8 ($2.4 million) -- a saving of euro1.5 million ($2 million).

Under Dutch law, marijuana and hashish are illegal but police don't
fine smokers for possession of less than five grams (one-sixth of an
ounce) or prosecute for possession of less than 30 grams (one ounce).
Authorities look the other way regarding the open sale of cannabis in
designated "coffee shops."

But growers are subject to raids and prosecution, meaning the
officially tolerated shop owners have no legal way to purchase their
best-selling product.

The case isn't the first time a court's ruling on taxes has raised
Dutch eyebrows. In 2005, judges in the northern city of Leeuwarden
ruled that witches can write off the cost of schooling in witchcraft
against their tax bills if it increases the likelihood of employment
and personal income.