Boob deduction

A Danish stripper argues that her breast surgery is a business expense.

Published January 30, 2001 8:44PM (EST)

For the sake of argument, let's say you work as a stripper in Copenhagen, Denmark. You realize that your god-given breast size just isn't cutting it with the local clientele. The girls with implants are making three times as much as you and your small chest. So you make that fateful decision and throw down the big bucks for breast enlargement. Then it dawns on you: Isn't this a medical procedure that is essential to doing business?

Danish stripper Lia Damen believed this to be true. She went to the tax commission in the town of Vejle and got permission to deduct the cost of her boob job (24,100 kroner, or about $2,900). What a breakthrough, a win-win situation! She deducts the medical expenses, and because the enlarged breasts will attract more customers, she makes more money and pays more taxes!

National tax chiefs didn't think so. According to AFP news agency, they opposed the local Vejle tax office decision, which forced Damen to appeal her case to the national tax council in Copenhagen.

In a courtroom packed with reporters and photographers, Damen again pleaded her case. She is a stripper. This is work-related. In the business of stripping a breast is a tool, and better tools mean more income, and thus more taxes.

The tax court refused her pleas, and the ruling stood. After the hearing, Damen was swarmed with media.

"I tried to explain the basis for my demand for a deduction for the costs of the plastic surgery because my breasts were small and were shaped like bananas," she told salivating reporters.

"Most men like big breasts and my employers also expect me to have a seductive chest. I had the operation for purely professional reasons."

Damen vowed she is not through with her breast battle, and intends to take her case to a labor tribunal.


By Jack Boulware

Jack Boulware is a writer in San Francisco and author of "San Francisco Bizarro" and "Sex American Style."

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