Dead Frenchwoman hit with tax demand - in her grave

RENNES, France: Combining the old adage about death and taxes, French authorities have sent a demand for property duties to a dead woman -- addressed to her grave in a small town in Brittany.

The mayor of the seaside town of Sarzeau said he had received a letter from the public finance offices to a dead resident, addressed to "grave 24, row E, cemetery road", his secretary told AFP on Saturday.

The town´s treasurer Christophe Libre told the Ouest France regional newspaper it was a demand for property taxes.

"Unfortunately it´s not the first time we´ve had this sort of letter from the public finance centre in Vannes," Libre told the paper. Vannes is the nearest large town to Sarzeau.

He said it could have been a "joke from someone doing the change of address," or "one of the heirs who didn´t want to pay the property tax".