Denmark: Tiny tax refunds donated to refugee charity

Jonas Kiltgaard Hansen wants Danes' small change to make a big difference

A Danish man is encouraging people to donate tiny amounts refunded to them by the tax authorities to a fund for refugees.

A calculation error by the country's tax assessment council, Skat, means that 900,000 Danes have been reimbursed, with most getting less than 50 kroner ($8; £5). Among them is Jonas Klitgaard Hansen, who received the not-so-princely sum of 56 kroner. "I read lots of messages from people who had received ridiculously small amounts from Skat," he tells the Ekstra Bladet newspaper. "Many people aren't even aware they have received them, so I thought the small amounts should go to those who need it."

Mr Hansen has set up an online donation page so people can pass on their tax refunds to the Danish Refugee Council, which works with refugees and internally displaced people around the world. In the two days since fundraising started, the site has already raised more than 245,000 kroner ($37,000; £24,000).

Denmark's new centre-right government recently announced large cuts to the benefits that asylum seekers can claim, something reflected in comments left on the fundraising site. "Great initiative - let us prove that we Danes ARE compassionate," one donor says. A man who passed on his 43 kroner writes: "Nothing for me, but it may be for others." And while some gave the exact amount they had been reimbursed, others decided to add a little extra. "I got 12 kroner back, and rounded up to 500 - maths has never been my strong point," one person writes, followed by a wink.

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