Santa goes bust over Finnish tax bill

Finland's Santa Claus Office has been declared bankrupt over unpaid taxes after a sharp drop in visits from recession-hit Russians, once the center's best customers.

But Managing Director Jarmo Kariniemi said he believed the company, which employs around 20 people, could yet avoid closure over its $223,980 tax bill.

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"We have one more week to come up with the money. I'm confident that we can handle this," said Kariniemi, whose firm offers the chance to be photographed with Santa for a fee.

The Santa Claus Office, one of several Santa-themed businesses in Lapland, had some 300,000 visitors last year and revenues of about 2 million euros.

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Japanese tourists have replaced Russians as the center's leading customers, as sanctions imposed over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis and a sharp decline in the price of Russia's major export, oil, have hit its economy hard.