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TAXES

Taxman chases second Abba member

Abba star Anni-Frid Reuss-Lyngstad is being chased by the Swedish tax authorities for 12 million kronor, which they say is owed in tax. Lyngstad is accused of passing the money through a string of offshore jurisdictions in order to avoid tax in Sweden.

Switzerland-based Lyngstad is said to have moved money from Abba’s record companies Polar and Universal to a company in Panama. The company, Chaperon, was shown in a tax declaration for the period 2000-2002, to be 100 percent owned by the Abba star, Dagens Nyheter reported.

The news follows revelations that fellow Abba star Björn Ulvaeus is facing a demand for 87 million kronor in back tax from Swedish authorities.

According to an investigation by the Swedish tax authority, Lyngstad has actively moved the ownership of her share of the Abba rights between companies in different countries. The company in Panama took over the rights from Chaperon Limited, an Ireland-based company.

According to documents seen by The Local, Chaperon Limited has also previously been registered in Britain.

The purpose of moving the companies between different countries was allegedly to be able to make the costs for the acquisition of the rights by the different companies tax deductible.

Swedish tax authorities last year declared that Chaperon was liable to pay tax of 12 million kronor on earnings of 38 million kronor. Chaperon’s assets were frozen for a time during the investigation.

The company has now appealed the tax authority’s decision to the Stockholm Administrative Court.