Swedish taxman targets strippers

Taking your clothes off for a living can be one way to get rich quick, but Swedish strippers could be landed with a hefty bill if they fail to declare their income, a top tax official said Thursday.

Dag Hardyson, the Swedish Tax Authority's national project leader on internet trade, said investigators were stepping up their hunt for those stripping live on Swedish websites in a bid to claw back lost tax revenues.

"We want all these girls to be compliant with the system," he said. Authorities estimate the market for live webcam sites is worth close to €3.7 million.

Mr Hardyson said they uncovered 200 strippers working on the web who were not reporting their earnings. Officials believe between 300 and 500 girls in Sweden make their living in this way, but there is no record of any of them filing a tax return.

"These are young girls so of course it could be a problem with information of how to be compliant," Mr Hardyson said, adding most of them were under the age of 25.