Serbian Singers Face Trouble With Tax Office

Ljiljana Kovacevic, head of Serbia's Tax Administration, said they had started checking up on the earnings and businesses of folk and pop stars in the country after news broke of singer Svetlana Seka Aleksic's latest gift.

"Right now, we are checking the origin of the money with which Seka Aleksic's husband bought her a car for 100,000 euro for her birthday," she said.

"We are checking where the money came from, how the vehicle is purchased and whether tax was paid on it," Kovacevic added.

The news of Aleksic's luxurious present was leaked after the singer - perhaps unwisely - posted a photograph of the trophy car on her Facebook profile.

Aleksic refused to reveal the origin of her husband's money and maintained that she had always paid her taxes in full.

But Seka's colleague, Dragica Radosavljevic aka Cakana, said a crackdown on folk singers was not a surprise, as the fact that most of them were paid in cash for their gigs was bound to arouse suspicion.

"I hope all the details are clarified soon. I think it's quite right that it is known who earns what and how much," Cakana told the newspaper Blic.

Serbia's new government has said cracking down on tax dodgers will be a priority as the cash-strapped country tries to put its finances in order.

The watchdog Transparency Serbia yesterday said the introduction of more "realistic" taxation of big entertainment stars was yet another measure designed to help Serbia close its large budget deficit.