Prostitute beats off taxman in Oslo court

Police in August raided an Oslo flat where a woman known as Patricia (34) lived with two other sex workers. They seized 74,000 kroner, much of it in foreign currency. 

They refused to return the money to Patricia, who is from Nigeria, claiming that the money was earned in Norway and should be subject to income tax and VAT (sales tax), according to newspaper VG.

But the court queried whether the state should tax income from prostitution, given that related activity such as pimping and human trafficking are crimes. It also said that it was not proven that Patricia was a tax resident in Norway at the time.

Patricia told VG that she was initially happy with the verdict, “but then I was told that I won’t get my money back immediately. I want this to be over, but I need the cash”.