diff --git a/odf2legi/odf2legi.py b/odf2legi/odf2legi.py
index 8cfa0ec..e5abef3 100644
--- a/odf2legi/odf2legi.py
+++ b/odf2legi/odf2legi.py
@@ -401,7 +401,11 @@ def handle_paragraph(parent, elem):
             parent.attrib['role'] = align
 
     fill_inline(para, elem, invert_bg=invert_bg)
-    if not (para.text or para.tail or len(para.getchildren())):
+    if not para.text:
+        para_text = None
+    else:
+        para_text = para.text.replace(' ', '').replace('\t', '').replace(u'\xa0', '')
+    if not (para_text or para.tail or len(para.getchildren())):
         # remove empty paragraphs
         if para in parent:
             parent.remove(para)