2010 was an eventful year, especially for celebrities with tax problems. Like in 2009, 2010 had just as many celebrities who had run-ins with the tax authorities. Some celebs paid their liabilitys, where others were in denial regarding their liabilitys, and other were victims of mistakes made by tax authorities. (Looking for the latest celebrities that owe taxes? Check out the top 50 Celebrity Tax Problem Stories of 2011, and top 60 Celebrity Tax Problems of 2012)
Uncle Sam doesn’t discriminate, and tax officials don’t care how many Oscars, Emmys or Grammys these starlets have, how beloved they may be by their millions of fans, how respected they are by their political constituents, or even whether or not they’re still alive. Actors and musicians, athletes and reality stars, politicians and even an Aussie. Read on to see the 2010 “who’s who” in celeb tax problems.
| 100) Michael Jackson | Amount Owed: $1,647 |
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| | The California Tax Board has filed a claim for $1,647 from the late singer Michael Jackson’s estate, saying that’s how much it cost to remind the late King of Pop to file his tax return for 2007. Jackson’s attorney gave assurances that the liability would be paid. |
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| 99) Michael Brea | Amount Owed: $2,500 |
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| | Actor Michael Brea had a role on the TV series Ugly Betty and in the movie Step-Up 3-D. He was also the face of a campaign for the energy drink Coca-Cola: Full Throttle. In 2007, Brea opened a “Subway” restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. |
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| 98) Erin Brockovich | Amount Owed: $2,600 |
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| | Erin Brockovich is a legal clerk and environmental activist who, without formal law school education, built a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993 that led to a feature film based on her story. The movie, titled Erin Brockovich, starred Julia Roberts as Brockovich and was nominated for five Academy Awards. |
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| 97) Aretha Franklin | Amount Owed: $11,076 |
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| | Aretha Franklin – also known as “The Queen of Soul “ – is famous for her jazz, blues, R&B, soul and gospel music, and has topped Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The Greatest Singers of All Time.” In addition to the $11,076 lien filed against her home, Franklin was reported to owe more than $33,729 in property taxes. |
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| 96) Michael Lohan | Amount Owed: $12,429 |
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| | Michael Lohan, the father of actress Lindsay Lohan, says that he was in prison for some of the tax years for which the IRS claims he is delinquent and that he filed a tax extension. Lohan has served two stints in prison; first, in the 1990s on contempt of court charges, and second, more recently, for drunk driving and attempted assault. |
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| 95) Marion Barry | Amount Owed: $15,000 |
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| | Democratic politician Marion Barry, Jr. currently serves as a member of the DC Council, representing DC’s Ward 8. He’s known for giving Jesse Jackson’s presidential nomination speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention and for being videotaped smoking crack cocaine and arrested by FBI officials on drug charges in 1990. |
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| 94) Khloe Kardashian | Amount Owed: $18,490 |
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| | Khloe Kardashian is a reality TV star, owner of clothing store DASH, and wife of LA Laker Lamar Odom. Khloe claimed to have paid the lien a long time ago and that her accountant never filed it. The lien has reportedly been paid off by her new accountant. |
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| 93) Gil Hill | Amount Owed: $20,000 |
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| | Former President of the Detroit City Council, as well as a former Detroit police detective, Gil Hill gained national fame as a Hollywood actor, playing the role of Inspector Todd opposite Eddie Murphy in all three Beverly Hills Cop films. Hill ran for Mayor of Detroit in 2001 but lost to Kwame Kilpatrick. |
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| 92) Jeff Bridges | Amount Owed: $23,997 |
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| | Jeff Bridges is an Oscar-winning actor and a musician. His won an Academy Award in 2010 for his leading role in Crazy Heart and scored Oscar nominations for his work in The Last Picture Show, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Starman and The Contender. Bridges reportedly settled his taxes owed in May 2010. |
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| 91) Jodie Sweetin | Amount Owed: $27,445 |
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| | When Full House ended in 1995, child star actress Jodie Sweetin began a downward spiral that included a methamphetamine addiction and two marital divorces. Since recovering from her drug addiction, Sweetin returned to television in 2007 with a hosting gig on Fuse TV’s Pants-Off Dance-Off show. In 2009, she wrote a memoir titled unSweetined. |
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| 90) George Wendt | Amount Owed: $30,001 |
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| | Actor George Wendt is best known for his role of Norm Peterson on the TV show Cheers. He appeared on all 273 episodes of Cheers and played Norm Peterson on seven different TV shows: Cheers, St. Elsewhere, The Tortellis, The Simpsons, Wings, Frasier and Family Guy. |
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| 89) Vincent Leibell | Amount Owed: $43,000 |
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| | Former New York State Senator Vincent Leibell resigned from his post in December 2010 after 28 years in office, and plead guilty to felony bribery, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice charges. Leibell is also the former County Executive-elect of Putnam County in New York State. |
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| 88) Macy Gray | Amount Owed: $50,197 |
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| | Macy Gray is a Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, as well as a songwriter, record producer and actress. The singer has released seven albums and has received five Grammy nominations. She acted in a number of movies, including Training Day, Spider-Man, Scary Movie 3 and Lackawanna Blues. |
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| 87) Danny Trejo | Amount Owed: $51,229 |
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| | Actor Danny Trejo was reported to be a childhood drug addict and convicted criminal who now specializes in portraying tough criminals and villains and has appeared in such films as Desperado, Heat, Con Air and Machete. He also made a cameo as the bartender in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. |
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| 86) Mark Portugal | Amount Owed: $54,444 |
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| | Former MLB pitcher Mark Portugal made the Rhode Island Division of Taxation’s list of Top 100 Tax Delinquents. Portugal played from 1985 to 1999 for several teams, including the Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox. |
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| 85) Naomi Campbell | Amount Owed: $63,287 |
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| | British supermodel Naomi Campbell has appeared on the catwalks of Milan and Paris as well as on over 500 magazine covers. She also testified at the war crimes trial of Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor last year. |
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| 84) Sean Patrick Flanery | Amount Owed: $64,000 |
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| | Actor Sean Patrick Flanery played trigger-happy Connor MacManus in The Boondock Saints. He also had played a role in The Dead Zone and Saw 3D, and portrayed Indiana Jones in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. The State of California Franchise Tax Board alleges that Flanery stiffed the state out of more than $64k in back taxes. |
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| 83) Grace Jones | Amount Owed: $64,000 |
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| | Before Lady Gaga was even born, Jamaican singer and Bond girl Grace Jones had gained fame for her androgynous appearance – which included square-cut hair and angular, padded clothes – and outrageous musical act, which included live lions and leopards. She earned roles in films like Boomerang and Wolf Girl, among others. |
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| 82) Cary Elwes | Amount Owed: $68,648 |
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| | British actor Cary Elwes made a name for himself with performances in the classic films The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Liar Liar. He also held roles in Hot Shots!, Glory, Saw and Saw 3D, Twister and Kiss the Girls. |
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| 81) Arnold Schwarzenegger | Amount Owed: $79,064 |
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| | Sometimes the IRS makes mistakes and this is a great example of that. The IRS had a computer glitch on Arnold’s payroll tax records in 2004 and 2005. This glitch ended up filing an IRS tax lien for 79,064 of the former Governor. The Glitch made it show he didn’t pay the payroll taxes, which he actually did. This tax lien problem was finally cleared up and the IRS released the lien on January 20th of 2010. |
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| 80) Dawn Wells | Amount Owed: $80,520 |
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| | Actress Dawn Wells played the wholesome girl next door, Mary Ann Summers, on the 1960’s hit show Gilligan’s Island. Since Gilligan’s Island went off the air in 1967, Wells has performed in over 66 theatrical productions and has done dozens of voice-overs, commercials and talk shows. |
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| 79) Lamar Odom | Amount Owed: $87,000 |
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| | Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom sued the IRS in 2010 for disallowing him tax deductions for NBA player fines and fitness training. Odom characterized the player fines as an “ordinary and necessary employee business expense.” The $87,000 tax bill for which he is suing included $9,000 in interest. |
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| 78) Kel Mitchell | Amount Owed: $91,373 |
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| | Kel Mitchell is a comedic actor best known for his work on the Nickelodeon series All That and Kenan & Kel, and his leading role in the film Good Burger. Although he is still acting and doing voice-over work, his yearly income has fallen drastically and he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in March 2010. |
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| 77) Corbin Bernsen | Amount Owed: $94,681 |
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| | Actor Corbin Dean Bernsen played Arnold Becker on L.A. Law and has appeared regularly on other shows, including General Hospital, Cuts and Psych. He also played the role of 3rd baseman Roger Dorn in all three of the Major League films. |
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| 76) Balthazar Getty | Amount Owed: $96,498 |
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| | Brothers & Sisters star Balthazar Getty debuted his acting career in the 1990 movie Lord of the Flies and went on to star in Young Guns II, White Squall, Lost Highway, Big City Blues and Ladder 49. The tax lien against him was filed and quickly taken care of. |
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| 75) Kelly Rowland | Amount Owed: $98,634 |
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| | Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Kelly Rowland rose to fame in the girl group Destiny’s Child. In 2003, she made her big screen debut in Freddy vs. Jason and after the group broke up in 2005, Rowland released a few solo albums. |
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| 74) James Ingram | Amount Owed: $99,906 |
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| | James Ingram is a soul musician and vocalist. He has had hit collaborations with Patti Austin, Michael McDonald and Kenny Rogers, and participated in the charity single “We Are the World” in 1985. He also co-wrote “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” which was recorded on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album. |
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| 73) Mekhi Phifer | Amount Owed: $108,497 |
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| | Actor Mekhi Phifer starred as Eminem’s best friend Future in the 2002 film 8 Mile and as Dr. Gregory Pratt on ER for six years. He has appeared in more than a dozen other films, including Clockers, Soul Food, O, Paid in Full, Honey and Brian’s Song. |
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| 72) Omarion | Amount Owed: $110,585 |
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| | Omarion is a 26-year-old R&B singer, actor and dancer. He is the former lead singer of the boy band B2K, acted in films like You Got Served and Fat Albert, and replaced Shane Sparks as a judge on America’s Best Dance Crew in 2010. |
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| 71) Abel Maldonado | Amount Owed: $111,146 |
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| | Maldonaldo was nominated to replace California Lt. Governor John Garamendi after Garamendi won the November 2009 Congressional election. Shortly after being sworn into office, the Maldonaldo family farm, Agro-Jal Farming Enterprises, settled its hefty IRS tax bill. Maldonaldo was later defeated in the 2010 lieutenant governor election by Gavin Newsom. |
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| 70) Billy Zane | Amount Owed: $116,578 |
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| | Billy Zane is an actor, producer and director best known for his role as Cal Hockley in Titanic. He also appeared as The Phantom in The Phantom, John Wheeler in Twin Peaks and Biff’s friend Match in Back to the Future, and made a cameo in Zoolander. |
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| 69) Fat Joe | Amount Owed: $139,000 |
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| | Rapper Fat Joe is the CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment and a member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad. He has been in the rap scene since 1992, and his most popular song is his Remy Martin duet, “Lean Back,” a number-one hit in the summer of 2004. |
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| 68) Beverly Johnson | Amount Owed: $142,000 |
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| | Beverly Johnson made history as the first black model to appear on the cover of American Vogue. She has been honored by both Oprah Winfrey and The New York Times for paving the way for black women in the fashion industry. Johnson claims to be making payments toward the $142,000 that she owes the IRS. |
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| 67) Reggie Bush | Amount Owed: $150,000 |
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| | New Orleans Saints running back and Heisman Trophy-winner Reggie Bush was at the center of controversy in 2010. The NCAA alleges that Bush receiving an estimated $300,000 in benefits while playing football for the University of Southern California (USC). Bush could be forced to pay up to $150,000 in back taxes on the benefits he received during that time. |
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| 66) Rodney & Holly Peete | Amount Owed: $156,573 |
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| | Former Detroit Lions quarterback Rodney Peete played in the NFL from 1989 to 2005. His wife, Holly Robinson Peete, was runner-up to Bret Michaels last year on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. The couple claimed to have been blindsided by the lien filed against them and subsequently fired their accountant. |
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| 65) Trick Daddy | Amount Owed: $157,000 |
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| | Trick Daddy is a rapper from Miami who’s hit single “I’m a Thug” reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001. In March 2009, the rapper revealed that he had been suffering in silence for years with the disease Lupus. |
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| 64) Judy Collins | Amount Owed: $160,000 |
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| | 1960s folk legend Judy Collins brought the world hits songs like “Both Sides Now,” “Amazing Grace” and “Send in the Clowns.” The 71-year-old singer/songwriter’s eclectic catalog of recorded music includes folk, show tunes, pop, rock & roll and standards. Collins is also a known for her social activism and is currently a representative for UNICEF. |
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| 63) Adam Jasinski | Amount Owed: $175,000 |
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| | Adam Jasinski, Big Brother 9’s grand prize winner and a 33-year-old public relations manager from Delray Beach, FL, neglected to pay taxes on his $500,000 winnings and instead it was reported he allegedly used the money to fund a drug ring. He has been sentenced to four years in prison for his serious lapse in judgment. |
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| 62) Christina Ricci | Amount Owed: $179,568 |
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| | Former child star Christina Ricci gained fame for her acting performances in such movies as The Addams Family and Casper. Ricci was able to shed her child star image with more adult-oriented roles in The Ice Storm, The Opposite of Sex, Sleepy Hollow, Monster and Black Snake Moan. |
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| 61) Kevin Saunderson | Amount Owed: $181,000 |
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| | Brooklyn-born music producer Kevin Saunderson, known as “The Elevator,” is considered to be one of the originators of techno. The 46-year-old DJ – who is busy performing around the world and developing his record label, KMS Productions, LLC – is in dispute with the IRS over the liens filed against him. |
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| 60) Michael Sohn | Amount Owed: $184,498 |
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| | Michael Sohn is the ex-campaign manager of former U.S. Representative from Connecticut Chris Shays. In March 2010, Sohn plead guilty to tax evasion and to taking more than $250,000 in campaign money for car repairs, limo rides, baseball tickets, furniture and other personal uses. He was sentenced to 37 months in prison. |
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| 59) Chamillionaire | Amount Owed: $184,692 |
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| | Rapper Chamillionaire – whose real name is Hakeem Seriki – is also a singer, philanthropist, and CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment. In 2007 he won a Grammy and an MTV Video Music Award for his number one hit song “Ridin” that featured Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. |
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| 58) Charles Jones | Amount Owed: $190,000 |
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| | Attorney and Former Louisiana State Senator Charles Jones was convicted by a federal jury on two counts of filing false tax returns and one count of tax evasion in August 2010 and was sentenced to 27 months in prison. |
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| 57) Vinny Paz | Amount Owed: $195,826 |
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| | Former boxer and world champion in the lightweight and light middleweight weight classes, Vinny Paz boxed under the nickname “The Pazmanian Devil” from 1988 to 2002. His name re-surfaced in 2010 when he landed the number 21 spot on Rhode Island’s list of the top 100 tax delinquents. |
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| 56) Sherilyn Fenn | Amount Owed: $196,032 |
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| | Actress Sherilyn Fenn rose to fame in her role as Audrey Horne on the 1990 TV series Twin Peaks. She portrayed actress Elizabeth Taylor in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story, had roles in Of Mice and Men, Ruby, Boxing Helena and Rude Awakening, and recently made a cameo on the TV show Psych. |
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| 55)Janice Dickinson | Amount Owed: $200,000 |
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| | Janice Dickinson, the self-acclaimed “world’s first supermodel,” has morphed into a reality TV star over the past decade, with stints on America’s Next Top Model, I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, and even her own reality show, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. |
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| 54) Wes Bentley | Amount Owed: $203,883 |
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| | Actor Wes Bentley is most well known for his role of Ricky Fitts in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty. Bentley has also starred in The Four Feathers, P2 and Ghost Rider. He has struggled allegedly drug addiction and went to rehab in 2009. He has been clean ever since and is working to rebuild his career. |
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| 53) Lena Olin | Amount Owed: $207,836 |
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| | Actress Lena Olin played Irina Derevko, the evil mother of Jennifer Garner’s character, in the TV series Alias. Her role in Alias earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is also known for her role of Josephine Muscat in Chocolat. |
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| 52) Nicole Murphy | Amount Owed: $214,000 |
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| | Nicole Murphy is the ex-wife of comedian Eddie Murphy and the mother of his five children. When their 13-year marriage ended in 2006, Nicole took a one-time payout of $15 million instead of monthly alimony, and only four years later has managed to spend it all. She is currently dating former New York Giant Michael Strahan. |
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| 51) Kwame Kilpatrick | Amount Owed: $224,000 |
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| | At 31-years-old, Kwame Kilpatrick was the youngest man to be elected Mayor of Detroit. His administration was fought with controversy and ended in the midst of lawsuits. The former mayor is already in jail for violating probation for a different crime. He was indicted for fraud and tax evasion in June 2010 |
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| 50) Boris Kodjoe | Amount Owed: $230,000 |
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| | Actor and former male model Boris Kodjoe starred in NBC’s recently canceled series Undercovers. He has also had a variety of movie roles in such films as Resident Evil: Afterlife, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, Love & Basketball, Brown Sugar and Madea’s Family Reunion. |
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| 49) Rickie Lee Jones | Amount Owed: $240,000 |
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| | Rickie Lee Jones is a singer, musician, songwriter and producer best known for her 1979 hit “Chuck E.’s in Love.” She also had a famous for her relationship with songwriter Tom Waits, and has recorded in a variety of musical styles, including rock, R&B, blues, pop, soul and jazz. |
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| 48) Shannen Doherty | Amount Owed: $249,942 |
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| | Actress Shannen Doherty is most well known as the character Brenda Walsh from the hit 90’s TV series Beverly Hills, 90210. Prior to Beverly Hills, 90210 she played Heather Duke in Heathers, and post-90210 she appeared as Prue Halliwell in the TV series Charmed. She was on the 5th season of Dancing With the Stars in 2010, but was the first star eliminated. |
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| 47) Rob Lowe | Amount Owed: $269,956 |
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| | Actor Rob Lowe, brother of actor Chad Lowe, has appeared in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night…, Youngblood, Wayne’s World, Tommy Boy and St. Elmo’s Fire, and TV shows such as The West Wing, Brothers & Sisters and Parks and Recreation. |
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| 46) Jeremy Mayfield | Amount Owed: $297,071 |
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| | NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield is the 1987 Kentucky Motor Speedway Rookie of the Year and the 1993 Auto Racing Club of America Rookie of the Year. Mayfield is currently suspended from NASCAR for allegedly testing positive for methamphetamine twice between May 2009 and July 2009. |
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| 45) Obie Trice | Amount Owed: $298,051 |
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| | Obie Trice is a Detroit rapper who signed to Eminem’s Shady Records in 2000 and has since released four albums. In 2005, Trice survived a New Year’s Eve shooting on the Lodge Expressway by Wyoming Avenue in Detroit and still has a bullet lodged in his head. |
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| 44) Edward Klein | Amount Owed: $300,000 |
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| | Bestselling nonfiction author Andrew Klein’s most recent work, The Obama Identity: A Novel (Or Is It?), is a book that explores and promotes Barack Obama citizenship and religion conspiracy theories in the form of a novel. Klein has also written about the Kennedys and Hillary Clinton. |
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| 43) Young Buck | Amount Owed: $300,000 |
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| | Southern rapper Young Buck is a former member of the New York City-based hip hop group G-Unit. The rapper left G-Unit Records in 2008 and created his own record label named Cashville. A feud between he and the head of G-Unit Records, 50 Cent, ensued. |
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| 42) Vera Wang | Amount Owed: $350,000 |
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| | New York fashion designer Vera Wang has made wedding gowns for top public figures and celebrities, including Chelsea Clinton, Ivanka Trump, Campbell Brown, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Garner, Sharon Stone, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Hilary Duff, Uma Thurman, Holly Hunter and Kate Hudson, among many others. |
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| 41) Charles Dutton | Amount Owed: $392,039 |
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| | Emmy Award-winning actor Charles Dutton is best known for starring in the TV series Roc and House MD. At 17, Dutton was charged and convicted of manslaughter and went to prison, where he discovered his passion for acting. He went on to major in drama at Towson State University and earned a master’s degree in acting from the Yale School of Drama. |
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| 40) Toni Braxton | Amount Owed: $396,330 |
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| | R&B singer/songwriter Toni Braxton is known for her hit songs “Unbreak My Heart” and “Breath Again” and, more recently, competed on Dancing with the Stars. She has a history of financial problems, including filing for bankruptcy in 1998. The IRS filed a tax lien for against her in April 2010, adding her to our list for the second year in a row. |
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| 39) Roger Stone | Amount Owed: $405,035 |
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| | Longtime political operative Roger Stone’s $400,000 taxes owed came to light last October when he signed on as a political advisor to 2010 New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. Stone had previously lost money after partnering with confessed Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, who pleaded guilty to de-frauding investors out of $1.2 billion. |
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| 38) Teri Polo | Amount Owed: $458,000 |
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| | Actress Teri Polo makes our list for the second year in a row since the IRS filed a new lien against her in January 2010, bringing her total taxes owed to more than $458,000. Polo is best known for her role in Meet the Parents and its two sequels. |
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| 37) Phil Hart | Amount Owed: $471,270 |
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| | Idaho State Representative Phil Hart stopped filing federal and state income tax returns in 1996 when he attempted an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming that federal income tax is unconstitutional. He’s since conceded and made partial payment, but it has been reported that both the state and the IRS contend that he has yet to pay in full. |
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| 36) Pam Anderson | Amount Owed: $493,145 |
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| | Pamela Anderson is an actress and model best known for her TV roles in Home Improvement and Baywatch. The Playboy Playmate made the California Franchise Tax Board’s 2010 list of the top 250 most delinquent California taxpayers. She also makes our celeb tax list for the second year in a row. |
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| 35) Val Kilmer | Amount Owed: $500,000 |
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| | Actor Val Kilmer, famous for his role of Iceman in Top Gun, also starred in Willow, Top Gun, and Batman, and appeared in the TV series Knight Rider. After settling the tax lien filed against him in 2009, Kilmer was hit with a new lien in November 2010. |
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| 34) John Kerry | Amount Owed: $500,000 |
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| | In July 2010 it was discovered that U.S. Senator from Massachusetts John Kerry had docked his new $7 million dollar yacht in Rhode Island, which allowed him to avoid paying Massachusetts taxes on the property. Kerry stated he had yet to take legal possession of the boat and that he would pay the taxes whether he owed them or not. |
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| 33) Prince | Amount Owed: $500,000 |
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| | Prince is a singer, songwriter, musician and actor who has won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. In 2004, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and Rolling Stone ranked him #28 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. |
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| 32) Warren Zide | Amount Owed: $518,630 |
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| | Film producer Warren Zide brought us the American Pie franchise and the Final Destination film series. The IRS filed a $518,000 tax lien against Zide in July 2010. The once acclaimed film producer filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in August and has put his $1.69 Santa Monica home up for sale. |
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| 31) Al Sharpton | Amount Owed: $538,652 |
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| | Al Sharpton is a minister, civil rights activist and radio talk show host. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. He hosts his a radio talk show, Keepin’ It Real, and he makes regular guest appearances on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. Sharpton’s civil rights group, the National Action Network, has a long history of tax troubles. |
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| 30) Beanie Sigel | Amount Owed: $540,000 |
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| | Beanie Sigel is a rapper from Philadelphia who has sold more than two million albums worldwide. His real name is Dwight Grant, and his stage name comes from a street in South Philadelphia. In 2004, Sigel was found guilty of federal weapons charges and sentenced to 366 days in federal prison. |
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| 29) Snoop Dogg | Amount Owed: $600,000 |
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| | Snoop is a famous rapper, actor, record producer and repeat tax offender. In 2009, the state of California put a tax lien on his home for failing to pay $284,053 he owed. In 2010, the IRS filed another lien – for double the amount he owed the previous year. |
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| 28) Antoine Fuqua | Amount Owed: $620,000 |
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| | Antoine Fuqua is a movie director most famous for directing the Academy Award-winning Training Day. He has also directed the films Tears of the Sun, King Arthur, Shooter and Brooklyn’s Finest, as well as music videos for artists such as Usher Raymond, Toni Braxton and Stevie Wonder, among many others. |
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| 27) Jamie Pressly | Amount Owed: $637,000 |
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| | Emmy Award-winning actress and model Jaime Pressly is best known for her role on My Name Is Earl, for which she won her Emmy. She has also appeared in films such as Not Another Teen Movie, DOA: Dead or Alive, Joe Dirt, Can’t Hardly Wait and I Love You, Man. |
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| 26) Swizz Beatz | Amount Owed: $652,727 |
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| | Swizz Beatz is an record producer, DJ and rapper who joined the hip-hop world at age 17 and has produced hit songs for a variety of recording artists, including DMX, Beyoncé, T.I. and Busta Rhymes, and launched his own record label, Full Surface Records. He and wife Alicia Keys welcomed their first son together in October 2010. |
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| 25) Colin Cowie | Amount Owed: $673,000 |
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| | Colin Cowie is a celebrity party planner, TV personality, writer and internationally acclaimed interior designer. His party planning business boasts star clients such as Oprah Winfrey and John Travolta. Cowie has also written eight books and makes regular appearances on The Today Show and The Ellen Degeneres Show. |
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| 24) Wyclef Jean | Amount Owed: $724,332 |
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| | Haitian musician and record producer Wyclef Jean rose to fame as a member of the hip hop group, the Fugees, and has gone on to realize a successful solo career. In August 2010, Jean filed for candidacy in the 2010 Haitian presidential election but was ruled ineligible for not having been a Haitian resident for five years. |
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| 23) Vince Neil | Amount Owed: $740,171 |
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| | Singer Vince Neil is best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He was also a cast member on The Surreal Life in 2002 and competed on Skating with the Stars in 2010. Four days after the IRS filed its most recent against him, Neil put out a nasty little “tweet” telling the world exactly how he felt about it. |
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| 22) Pedro Espada, Jr. | Amount Owed: $750,000 |
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| | Former New York State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. was indicted on six federal counts of embezzlement and theft in December 2010 and stripped of his leadership position in the State Senate. Espada had been a member of the New York State Senate since 1993. |
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| 21) Xzibit | Amount Owed: $959,523 |
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| | Rapper Xzibit is the host of MTV’s Pimp My Ride and Hs acted in films such as xXx: State of the Union, Gridiron Gang and 8 Mile. Between 2009 and 2010 his taxes owed grew from $502,000 to almost $1 million, moving him up on our list from #37 last year to #21 this year. |
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| 20) John Daly | Amount Owed: $1,050,733 |
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| | PGA champion golfer John Daly – nicknamed “Long John” for his driving distance off the tee – is famous for his flamboyant, non-country club appearance and attitude, and remains one of the most popular and intriguing figures on the PGA Tour. |
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| 19) Robert Blake | Amount Owed: $1,110,878 |
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| | Actor Robert Blake starred in the film In Cold Blood and the TV series Baretta. He was tried and acquitted for the murder of his wife in 2005, but was later was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death and ordered to pay $30 million. He filed for bankruptcy in February 2006. |
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| 18) Lil Wayne | Amount Owed: $1,300,000 |
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| | Grammy Award-winning Rapper Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records at the age of 9 and became the label’s youngest member. He has since released nine albums. In March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an eight-month prison sentence after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon. |
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| 17) Nick Cassavetes | Amount Owed: $1,352,821 |
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| | Nick Cassavetes is an actor, screenwriter and filmmaker who has directed several films, including John Q, Alpha Dog, The Notebook and My Sister’s Keeper. He acted in the films Face/Off, The Wraith, Life and The Astronaut’s Wife; adapted the screenplay for Blow; and wrote the dialogue for a Justin Timberlake music video. |
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| 16) Julius Curry | Amount Owed: $1,489,494 |
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| | Julius Curry played strong safety and returned punts for the University of Michigan from 1999 to 2002 and played in three NFL games for the Detroit Lions during the 2003 season. In 2006, he formed Curry Racing – the first NASCAR racing team with sole minority ownership – to compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. |
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| 15) Marc Anthony | Amount Owed: $1,600,000 |
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| | Marc Anthony is a Puerto Rican singer and actor, a minority owner of the Miami Dolphins, and the husband of Jennifer Lopez (a.k.a. J Lo). Anthony blamed his $3.4 million taxes owed on his business management company but paid the fine, while his financial team ultimately plead guilty to a number of tax felonies. |
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| 14)Richard Hatch | Amount Owed: $1,742,711 |
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| | Richard Hatch might be more famous for his tax troubles than for winning the first season of Survivor. In 2006, he went to prison for failing to pay taxes on the $1 million Survivor prize and other earnings. The IRS filed a new lien in 2010, claiming Hatch owes the IRS more than $1.7 million in delinquent federal income taxes. |
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| 13) Sean Connery | Amount Owed: $2,000,000 |
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| | A property firm linked to James Bond star Sir Sean Connery is involved in a tax probe by Spanish tax authorities for failing to pay approximately $2 million in taxes on sold property. The 79-year-old Scottish actor has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes. |
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| 12) Jim Thorpe | Amount Owed: $2,000,000 |
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| | Pro golfer Jim Thorpe, one of the first blacks ever to compete on the PGA Tour, has won three tournaments on the PGA Tour and 13 on the Champions Tour. In January 2010, Thorpe was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of tax evasion. |
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| 11) Steven Bren | Amount Owed: $2,209,561 |
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| | Former race car driver Steve Bren – who has since become a property developer and art collector – ranked 14th on the California Franchise Tax Board’s 2010 list of the top 250 most delinquent California taxpayers. Steve Bren is the son of real estate mogul Donald Bren. |
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| 10) Doug E Fresh | Amount Owed: $2,276,848 |
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| | Doug E. Fresh, is a rapper, record producer and beat boxer. Also known as “the Human Beat Box,” he is one of the early pioneers of beat boxing, able to accurately imitate drum machines and special effects using only his mouth, throat and a microphone. |
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| 9) Lamont Dozier | Amount Owed: $2,572,597 |
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| | Lamont Dozier created some of the most famous Motown jams, including “Baby Love,” “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch” and “Stop in the Name of Love” for stars like Marvin Gaye and the Temptations, which earned him inductions into the Songwriters and Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Dozier ranked 10th on the California Franchise Tax Board’s 2010 list of the top 250 most delinquent California taxpayers. |
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| 8.) Wesley Snipes | Amount Owed: $2,700,000 |
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| | Actor Wesley Snipes has starred in most well known for his role as Blade in the Blade trilogy. He was also in New Jack City, White Men Can’t Jump and Brooklyn’s Finest. After two years of appealing his 2008 misdemeanor conviction of failure to file U.S. federal income tax returns, Snipes finally began serving his prison sentence in December 2010. |
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| 7) Jean-Michael Cousteau | Amount Owed: $3,039,295 |
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| | Jean-Michel Cousteau is a French explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer who has produced more than 80 films. He runs the Ocean Futures Society, a non-profit marine conservation and education organization, and is currently working on a documentary about the disastrous 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. |
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| 6) Nicholas Cage | Amount Owed: $3,811,952 |
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| | Academy Award-winning actor Nicolas Cage has appeared in more than 60 feature films, including Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off and National Treasure. After paying off his $14 million taxes owed for 2009, Cage was slapped with another tax lien in April 2010, this time for $3.8 million of delinquent taxes. |
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| 5) Nas | Amount Owed: $6,464,205 |
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| | Actor and rapper Nas was ranked #5 on MTV’s 10 Greatest MCs of All Time list in 2006. He was also ranked top 10 on this celeb tax list for 2009, and now top 5 in 2010 for being assessed with an additional tax lien in February 2010, and again in January 2011, bringing his total taxes owed to more than $6 millon. |
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| 4) Marion “Suge” Knight | Amount Owed: $6,500,000 |
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| | Rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. The record label first to realized dominance on the rap charts with Dr. Dre’s 1992 album, “The Chronic.” Other artists signed to Death Row included Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. Knight was sent to prison for a probation violation in 1996. |
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| 3) Chris Tucker | Amount Owed: $11,500,000 |
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| | Actor and comedian Chris Tucker has starred in films alongside such notables as Ice Cube, Charlie Sheen, Bruce Willis, Martin Lawrence and Jackie Chan. Tucker earned the #8 spot in our 2009 celeb tax list in for owing over $3 million in back taxes, and various reports state that his taxes owed has increased to $11.5 million move him up to the #3 spot for 2010. |
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| 2) Halsey Minor | Amount Owed: $13,120,479 |
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| | Halsey Minor topped the California Franchise Tax Board’s 2010 list of the top 250 most delinquent California taxpayers. In addition to being the most delinquent taxpayer in the state of California allegedly, Minor is a technology entrepreneur who founded CNET in 1993. |
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| 1) Paul Hogan | Amount Owed: $150,000,000 |
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| | When Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan returned to his native Sydney for his mother’s funeral in August 2010, he was immediately issued a Departure Prohibition Order by the Australian Taxation Office, which prevented him from leaving the country until his alleged taxes owed – an alleged AU$37.5 million of undeclared income – was paid or settled. |
Sources:
This post was published on March 1, 2011