Skatteverket, the Swedish tax agency, sent Ismail Abdullah a bill for 20,000 kronor ($2,750) for payroll taxes for his presumed full-time helper. Tax agents did not see how Abdullah could keep his restaurant open on his own.

"Everybody trusts that the authorities do the right thing," Abdullah told his local newspaper, Nerikes Allehanda. "When some clerk makes a significant mistake of this nature then one loses faith. I have been very disappointed."

Tax authorities canceled his bill after Abdullah convinced them the only help he gets is from occasional apprentices, The Local reported.