What do Casey Anthony, Lil Wayne and Al Pacino have in common? How about John Cena, Ozzy Osbourne, Kirstie Alley and Soulja Boy?
Well, it just so happens that all of those stars made our third annual list of Top Celebrity Tax Stories. And the diverse group of athletes, rappers, reality stars, musicians, actors and actresses who earned spots on our 2011 list just goes to show that it doesn’t matter how rich, famous, athletic, musically gifted or theatrically talented you are; if the IRS thinks you owe them money they will find you.
Whether these tax discrepancies were the result of hiring bad business managers, mistakes on the part of the IRS, or simple oversight on the part of the celebs in question (or, of course, the curse of being a contestant on either Dancing With the Stars or The Celebrity Apprentice), it is the celeb’s responsibility to resolve his or her tax liability.
We here at BackTaxesHelp.com do want to point out that this list is comprised of stars who were reported to have tax problems in 2011; therefore, some of them have since cleared up their problems.
On the other hand, several of our list members are repeat tax offenders who’ve made our 2009 or 2010 celebrity tax problem list (and also made our 2012 celebrity list). And since they clearly didn’t learn their lessons the first time around, we felt compelled to include them again this year.
So without further ado, we present to you a list of our favorite celeb tax stumbles of 2011:
| 50) Albert Pujols | Amount Owed: $729.94 |
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| | In the same year that the first baseman signed a $250 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels, he also had two tax liens (totaling $729.94) filed against him. SoCal is so excited to have Pujols on-board that billboards have been posted up referring to the slugger as “El Hombre” (Spanish for “The Man”). |
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| 49) Ad-Rock (Beastie Boys) | Amount Owed: $2,115 |
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| | The state of Ohio filed the tax lien against the musician, guitarist, rapper, producer and actor – whose real name is Adam Horovitz – and his wife in June 2011. In 1982, Horovitz joined the Beastie Boys at the age of 16, replacing guitarist John Berry. |
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| 48) Tareq Salahi | Amount Owed: $4,395 |
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| | Real Housewives of D.C. cast members Tareq and Michaele Salahi gained notoriety in 2009 for crashing a White House dinner. The reality TV couple has since filed for divorce, for which Tareq blames Journey guitar player Neal Schon, whom he is suing for more than $50M claiming emotional distress, defamation and – interestingly enough – alleging that Schon’s affair with Michaele prevented Tareq and his wife from making money as contestants on such shows as DWTS, a show with a long history of tax-offending participants. |
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| 47) Mathew Knowles | Amount Owed: $12,115 |
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| | Most famous for being Beyoncé’s dad, Mathew Knowles is an music executive and manager and the former manager of his daughter’s solo career and girl group, Destiny’s Child. He recently welcomed a new grandchild, Blu Ivy Carter (Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s daughter). |
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| 46) John Cena | Amount Owed: $15,214 |
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| | In late 2011, a Florida roofing company obtained a lean against John Cena, alleging that the WWE superstar owed them more than $15K. Cena, who is also an actor and rap artist, has since paid off the liability and the tax lien has been removed. The professional wrestler has won 19 WWE championships. Cena is not the first wrestler to make this list; Steve Austin earned the #91 slot in 2009. |
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| 45) Kevin Federline | Amount Owed: $17,969 |
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| | The back-up dancer and attempted rapper – who gained fame for being Britney Spears’s ex-husband and Shar Jackson’s baby daddy – was hit with a tax lien for failing to pay almost $18,000 in taxes shortly after finalizing his divorce from Spears in 2008. |
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| 44) Soulja Boy | Amount Owed: $26,805 |
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| | Rapper/actor Soulja Boy ranked #18 on the Forbes list of Hip-Hop Cash Kings in 2010. The following year, the 21-year-old (whose real name is DeAndre Way) paid off a $3.5K back tax bill, was hit with a new tax lien in the amount of almost $27K, purchased a $55 million private plane and had his home was also foreclosed on – all in 2011. |
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| 43) Corey Feldman’s Company | Amount Owed: $34,662 |
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| | Actor Corey Feldman rose to fame in the 1980’s with roles in such hit films as Stand by Me, Goonies and Gremlins. Feldman and his “The Lost Boys” co-star, the late Corey Haim, reunited in 2006 for two seasons of The Two Coreys before the reality show was canceled in 2008. The former child star’s company, Corey Feldman, Inc., was hit with a tax lien in LA last Summer for owing close to $35K in back taxes. |
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| 42) Fairuza Balk | Amount Owed: $38,690 |
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| | In 2011, actress Fairuza Balk successfully fought the IRS, significantly minimizing her federal tax liability. Since neither Balk nor the IRS will admit to making any errors, it’s unclear as to exactly how the actress – who has had roles in such films as The Waterboy, The Craft and American History X – was able to shrink her back tax bill from $38,690 to a mere $1,200. |
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| 41) Bob Eubanks | Amount Owed: $39,567 |
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| | TV and radio personality Bob Eubanks is best known for his role as host of The Newlywed Game, though he also served as the host of other game shows, such as Card Sharks, Trivia Trap and Rhyme and Reason. He coined the catchphrase “Makin’ Whoopee,” and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2000. |
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| 40) Kirstie Alley | Amount Owed: $41,395 |
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| | In 2011, Kirstie Alley settled a $41,000 back tax bill owed on her Florida mansion, which had previously been owned by Lisa Marie Presley. Alley is most famous for playing Rebecca Howe on the hit TV show Cheers, a role for which she won an Emmy and a Golden Globe. These days, the actress makes a living appearing in reality shows and advertising campaigns that focus on her weight, and placed second as a contestant in the 12th season of Dancing with the Stars. GOLD STAR |
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| 39) Dennis Rodman | Amount Owed: $42,497 |
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| | Retired professional basketball player Dennis Rodman was inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Despite a remarkable NBA career, during which he played for the Pistons, Spurs, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks, Rodman is known by many more for his “bad boy” image and controversial behavior. In addition to some of his most famous antics – which included dying his hair bright colors and designs, marking his body with several tattoos and piercings, and publicly wearing a wedding dress – he was once married to Carmen Electra and has been romantically linked to Madonna. Rodman’s business manager claimed the tax lien filed against the basketball standout by the state of California to be inaccurate. |
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| 38) Richard Grieco | Amount Owed: $44,270 |
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| | Richard Grieco is a B-list actor as well as a fashion model who has represented top fashion designers such as Armani, Calvin Klein and Chanel. His acting career includes his role as Rick Gardner on One Life to Live and as Detective Dennis Booker on both 21 Jump Street and Booker (a spinoff of the former). He’s also had several movie roles, including the 1991 flick If Looks Could Kill and the 1998 comedy A Night at the Roxbury (based off an SNL sketch featuring Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan). The IRS filed a $44,000 tax lien against the 1980’s heartthrob in September 2011. |
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| 37) Marlee Matlin | Amount Owed: $50,000 |
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| | Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning actress Marlee Matlin has publicly admitted to having money struggles and told People magazine that she is paying off her $50K IRS tax bill. Despite a successful career that includes movie roles and a number of TV show appearances (which have resulted in four Emmy nominations), Matlin and her police officer husband have struggled to make ends meet while raising their family. The actress put her personal financial struggles aside in 2011 when, as a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice 4, she raised more funds for charity in a single event than had ever been raised on a TV show before. She came in second place to John Rich. GOLD STAR? |
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| 36) Wes Scantlin | Amount Owed: $62,000 |
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| | Musician Wes Scantlin is the lead singer and guitarist for grunge band Puddle of Mudd, as well as the band’s only remaining founding member. The rocker reportedly owes the state of California more than $17,000 in back taxes, and an additional $45,000 to the IRS for a tax bill dating back to 2009. Late last Summer, Puddle of Mud dropped a new album called ‘re:(disc)overed,’ in which the band covers AC/DC, Bad Company and Led Zepplin classics. |
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| 35) Daryl Hannah | Amount Owed: $62,622 |
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| | Daryl Hannah has starred in a number of Hollywood films, including the hit ’80s movies Roxanne, Splash, Blade Runner and Wall Street. In addition to being hit with a $62,000 tax lien in March 2011, the actress was arrested in August for participating in a sit-in that took place in front of the White House to protest a proposed Keystone oil pipeline. Her August 2011 arrest was not the first time she was arrested for environmental activism; she was arrested and actually spent time in jail for her participation in a similar protest in 2006. |
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| 34) Casey Anthony | Amount Owed: $68,520 |
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| | On July 5, 2011, in a case that Time magazine called “the social media trial of the century” a jury found Casey Anthony not guilty in the murder of her two-year-old daughter, Caylee. The defendant was hit with a tax lien for almost $70,000 just days before her murder trial began. The IRS claims that Anthony owes taxes on the $200,000 that she reportedly received from ABC in exchange for family photos and videos of the murder victim (her daughter, Caylee Anthony). |
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| 33) Roberta Flack | Amount Owed: $90,693 |
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| | The IRS filed a $90K tax lien against 70-year-old Roberta Flack’s co-op residence at the exclusive Dakota apartment building in NYC, where John Lennon was fatally shot. In an ironic twist, Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, contributed to Flack’s latest album of Beatles cover songs, a project that may have kept Flack too busy to remember to pay her taxes. The Grammy Award-winner has released a number of hit songs throughout the years, including “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and “The Closer I Get to You.” |
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| 32) Bow Wow | Amount Owed: $91,105 |
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| | Last Fall, after rumors began circulating that Bow Wow had been hit with a $91K tax lien for back taxes owed from 2006, the rapper defensively blogged that the reports were untrue. However, it has since come to light that not only does he owe taxes from 2006, but also for both 2008 and 2010. The young star burst onto the rap scene as 13-year-old Lil’ Bow Wow in 2000. Now 24, the rapper has removed the “Lil” from his stage name, released two additional albums and held acting roles in such films as All About the Benjamins, Johnson Family Vacation and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. |
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| 31) Marshall Faulk | Amount Owed: $105,885 |
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| | Before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year, Marshall Faulk was hit with a $105,000 federal tax lien for neglecting to pay taxes on income earned via autograph signings and personal appearances back in 2008. The retired running back spent 12 years in the NFL and became the only RB in league history to gain both 12,000 rushing yards and 6,000 receiving yards before retiring in 2006. Faulk now works as an NFL Network analyst. |
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| 30) Tim Hardaway | Amount Owed: $120,000 |
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| | Although Tim Hardaway earned more than $46 million during his professional basketball career, the now-retired NBA point guard managed to rack up a hefty back tax bill before the Miami Heat bailed him out last year. When the IRS placed a $120,000 tax lien on Hardaway’s Miami mansion, the Miami Heat Limited Partnership purchased the home for $1.9 million, clearing the former Heat player of his tax liability while also allowing him to continue living in the home. Hardaway now works as an college basketball analyst for Compass Media Networks. |
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| 29) Al Pacino | Amount Owed: $188,283 |
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| | Last Spring, the IRS filed two tax liens against Al Pacino, claiming that the 70-year-old 70-year-old Academy Award-winning actor owed taxes for both 2008 and 2009. Reps for the movie-star blamed the $188,283 of unpaid taxes on Pacino’s former business manager, Kenneth Starr, who had just been convicted of fraud and sentenced to 7½ years in prison. Pacino has starred in a number of films throughout his career; most notably, Scent of a Woman, Scarface and The Godfather trilogy. |
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| 28) Michael Madsen | Amount Owed: $205,575 |
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| | When Michael Madsen walked out on a $30 bar tab at a Santa Monica restaurant back in 2010, it became apparent that the Kill Bill star may be having some money troubles. It became even more obvious in 2011, when the State of California filed a $205,000 tax lien against the actor. In addition to suffering from financial woes, Madsen – also known for his work in such films as Donnie Brasco, Reservoir Dogs and Free Willy – also has a history of alcohol-related problems. |
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| 27) JaMarcus Russell | Amount Owed: $223,180 |
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| | JaMarcus Russell was selected #1 overall in the 2007 NFL Draft, signed a $60M dollar contract with the Oakland Raiders, and proceeded to win only seven games in just three seasons in the league. The State of California hit the quarterback with a $223K tax lien for neglecting to pay taxes back in 2008. The good news, however, is that Russell – who’s been called the biggest draft bust in NFL history – was finally able to take care of business; in addition to paying off his tax bill and releasing the lien, the free agent QB was also able to sell his Oakland mansion at the end of 2011 (on which he owed $195K) to narrowly escape its foreclosure. |
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| 26) Santana Moss | Amount Owed: $258,017 |
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| | Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss was hit with a $258,017 IRS tax lien for failing to pay taxes in 2006, a year in which he earned more than $1.9 million. Earlier in 2011, the veteran wide-out was sued by a Florida business man for owing more than $300,000 in back rent payments. The 32-year-old WR has played in the NFL for 11 seasons and reportedly earned $2.5 million for his most recent season. Throughout his professional football career, Moss has played for the New York Jets and the Washington Redskins. |
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| 25) DWTS Rivals Kelly Monaco & John O’Hurley | Amount Combined Owed: $287,681 |
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| | In what People Magazine called “Samba-Gate,” General Hospital actress Kelly Monaco and Seinfeld actor John O’Hurley became dancing rivals when Dancing With the Stars fans complained the O’Hurley was robbed of the DWTS champion title. ABC held a re-match shortly after and this time, O’Hurley took the prize. In 2011, O’Hurley also won the battle over which star could earn the most in federal taxes. The IRS presented O’Hurley with a $220K tax lien, and Monaco, April 1997’s Playboy Playmate of the Month, with a smaller tax lien in the amount of $68K, in 2011. |
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| 24) Kevin Powell | Amount Owed: $326,775 |
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| | Kevin Powell was the oldest cast member in the first season of MTV’s The Real World: New York back in 1992. 20 years later, the former reality TV star is still remembered from the controversial arguments that he engaged in with his roommates while on The Real World. Now a political activist, Powell seems to be having trouble getting along with both the state of New York and the IRS. In 2011, the IRS hit Kevin with a $186K tax lien, and the state of New York filed a $82K tax lien against the reality star. In 2010, the state of New York had filed two separate tax liens against Powell, totaling $58,659. |
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| 23) Anjelica Huston | Amount Owed: $334,633 |
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| | Academy Award-winner Anjelica Huston is perhaps best known for her starring role as Morticia Addams in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values movies from the early 1990s, although she won her Oscar for her performance in Prizzi’s Honor back in 1985. Most recently, the actress has starred in such films as The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Darjeeling Limited. In 2011, Huston was hit with two IRS tax liens totaling $334,633. |
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| 22) Beanie Sigel | Amount Owed: $348,000 |
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| | Another repeat offender, Beanie Sigel moves up a few spots this year (he was #30 on our 2010 list of tax-troubled celebs). Sigel is a rapper and actor who appeared in such films as State Property and State Property 2. In August 2011, the rapper pleaded guilty on three counts of failing to file income federal income tax returns between the years of 2003-2005. The IRS claims that Sigel owes at least $348K in federal back taxes on earnings of over $9.2M. He faces up to three years in prison for tax evasion. |
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| 21) Angela & Vanessa Simmons | Amount Owed Combined: $450,478 |
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| | Vanessa and Angela Simmons, daughters of Run-DMC’s Rev Run and stars of MTV’s reality show Run’s House, both owed taxes last year. In 2011, Vanessa was hit with two IRS tax liens totaling $180K plus a $44K tax lien from the state of California Franchise Tax Board. In the same year, sister Angela was hit with three IRS tax liens totaling $186K and California state tax lien in the amount of $39K tax lien from the state of California. Ironically enough, the girls’ uncle, Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons, actually offered to pay more taxes during a July 2011 interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show. |
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| 20) Robin Thicke & Paula Patton | Amount Owed: $492,583 |
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| | R&B singer-songwriter Robin Thicke and Mission: Impossible actress Paula Patton were married in 2005 after having dated since they were only 16 years old. Thicke, known for his soulful voice, has written popular hit songs for both Usher and Mary J. Blige. Patton has held roles in films such films as Idlewild, Déjà Vu, Precious and Jumping the Broom. The Hollywood couple has a 2-year old son and a $492,583 federal tax bill. The IRS filed the tax lien against the pair back in December. |
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| 19) Christie Brinkley | Amount Owed: $531,720 |
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| | Despite being ranked 3rd in the Daily Mail‘s “World’s 20 Richest Models” list released last month, Christie Brinkley was hit with a $531,720 federal tax lien late last year. The IRS claims that the model and actress owes taxes on her $30 million Bridgehampton, NY mansion, which she’d been trying to sell since 2008. The 57-year-old former supermodel, once famously married to Billy Joel, is reported to have an $80 million fortune. |
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| 18) Jaime Pressly | Amount Owed: $637,000 |
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| | Actress, model and repeat tax offender Jaime Pressly is best known for her role as Joy Turner on the TV sitcom My Name Is Earl. In 2011, Pressly was hit with IRS and California state tax liens totaling over $542,069. The 33-year-old also made last year’s list for having a $95,080 tax lien filed against her by state of California in 2010. As if she didn’t already have enough legal troubles, the actress was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in early 2011. |
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| 17) R. Kelly | Amount Owed: $837,000 |
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| | R&B singer R. Kelly won three Grammy Awards for his hit song “I Believe I Can Fly.” One of the most successful R&B artists of all-time, Kelly was indicted on child pornography charges in 2002 but was found not guilty on all counts when when the case went to trial in 2008. Last Summer, it came to light that the singer had been hit with a $1.3M tax lien, but that he’d successfully gotten the total amount owed dropped down to $837K. Around the same time, news of his facing foreclosure on his Chicago mansion also began to surface. |
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| 16) Ben Vereen | Amount Owed: $931,215 |
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| | Actor Ben Vereen has appeared on Broadway and in a number of film and TV roles, but is perhaps best known for playing Uncle Phillip Long on 1980s TV series Webster. The $60,416 federal tax lien filed against the 64-year-old last July wasn’t his first encounter with the IRS. Vereen had been hit with $816,297 federal tax lien back in 2009, as well as two California state tax liens totaling $54,502 in the same year. The actor has blamed the discrepancies on his former business manager and claims that once he became aware of his back taxes, he began working to settle what he owes. |
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| 15) Pete Rose | Amount Owed: $973,693 |
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| | Switch-hitter Pete Rose is a professional baseball legend who played in the Major League from 1963-1986, winning Rookie of the Year, 3 World Series Championships, an MVP, 3 batting titles and 2 Gold Gloves, in addition to making 17 All-Star appearances in 5 different positions. He was an MLB manager from 1984 until 1989, when he agreed to be permanent ineligibility from baseball after being accused of gambling on baseball games as a player (which he later admitted to). A year later, in 1990, Rose plead guilty to charges of filing false income tax returns and spent a few months in prison. In April 2011, after accumulating $974K in back taxes, Rose squared away his federal tax bill from his 1997-2002 filings. |
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| 14) Bo Diddley | Amount Owed: $1,100,000 |
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| | The late Bo Diddley was an R&B singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is known as “The Originator” due to his influence on such artists as Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, who transitioned from blues to rock & roll. Diddley, who died in 2008 after suffering a stroke, left behind $1.1 million in back taxes. Last year, a judge ruled to allow Diddley’s managers to sell off the late singer’s music catalog to pay off the IRS tax liability. Diddley, who was born Ellas Otha Bates, was 79 years old. |
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| 13) Vince Neil | Amount Owed: $1,111,221 |
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| | Musician Vince Neil was the lead singer of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe until he left the band in 1992. He took up Indy racing and later formed Vince Neil Racing. In January 2011, he plead guilty to drunk driving and was sentenced to 15 days in county jail plus 15 days house arrest. Later that year, Neil was charged with battery and disorderly conduct after a domestic dispute with an ex-flame. The rocker – who jumps up 10 spots this year after ranking #23 on our 2010 list – has blamed past tax issues on his accountants and insists that he has settled all of his tax bills. |
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| 12) Richard Dent | Amount Owed: $1,160,056 |
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| | After several nominations, Super Bowl XX MVP Richard Dent was finally elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February 2011. One month later, the former NFL defensive end was hit with a $1,160,056 federal tax lien, making him the second Pro Football Hall of Famer to make this list (Marshall Faulk being the first). Dent spent most of his 14 NFL seasons with the Chicago Bears and earned two Super Bowl rings. He appeared and rapped in the famous Super Bowl Shuffle video in 1985. |
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| 11) Jackie Joyner-Kersee | Amount Owed: $1,224,735 |
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| | Voted Sports Illustrated for Women‘s Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th century, Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a retired athlete who won 3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze U.S. Olympic medals in the women’s heptathlon and women’s long jump competitions before retiring in 2000. Now, instead of medals, the Olympic champion seems to be earning a number of federal tax liens. In 2011, the IRS filed two tax liens totaling almost $800K against Joyner-Kersee and her husband. Added to the $425K tax lien filed against the couple back in 2006, their total back tax bill stands at almost $1,225K. |
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| 10) John Rhys-Davis | Amount Owed: $1,528,285 |
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| | Best known for his role as Sallah in the Indiana Jones films, British actor John Rhys-Davies has a fairly interesting resume. In addition to playing Gimli the dwarf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he’s also appeared on such TV shows as the 1993 remake of The Untouchables, and is the voice of characters in Disney’s Aladdin and the King of Thieves and in SpongeBob SquarePants. He’s also the narrator for MTV’s Wildboyz. The IRS filed a $1,021,539 federal tax lien against the 67-year-old in July 2011. Combined with a previous tax lien from 2006, the actor was reported to have owed the IRS more than $1.5 million in Federal back taxes. |
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| 9) David Allan Coe | Amount Owed: $1,640,853 |
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| | After a rough upbringing and a good deal of time spent in prison, bad boy David Allan Coe rose to fame as a country singer in the 1970s and 1980s. The IRS filed a $1,640,853 tax lien against Coe last January, alleging that the singer had failed to pay taxes for 2004, 2007 and 2009. This doesn’t mark the country star’s first trip to the financial trouble rodeo, however. Coe filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy back in 2005, and the IRS once seized a home that he owned in Key West, FL. |
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| 8 ) Fuzzy Thurston | Amount Owed: $1,700,000 |
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| | Former NFL O-lineman Fred “Fuzzy” Thurston played pro football in the 1950s and 1960s and won the first two Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers. After he neglected to settle a tax lien placed on his home back in 2004, federal marshals seized Thurston’s Super Bowl II ring and some other football memorabilia in order to pay off the then-77-year-old’s $1.7 million tax bill. The IRS claims that – as the owner of a chain of restaurants named “Fuzzy’s” – Thurston failed to submit some of the taxes that he withheld from his employees’ paychecks. |
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7) Ozzy, Sharon
& Kelly Osbourne | Amount Owed Combined: $2,134,782 |
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| | Former DWTS contestant Kelly Osbourne and former Celebrity Apprentice contestant Sharon Osbourne joined the growing list of tax-troubled participants of those two reality shows. Additionally, both Osbourne women placed 3rd on their respective seasons. The state of California filed a $34,763 tax lien against Kelly for failing to pay taxes back in 2009. Her parents, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, had their own tax troubles last year. The IRS placed a $1.7 million tax lien on the couple’s Los Angeles home only a couple of months after hitting Kelly with hers. Their tax problems may be been resolved since then. |
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| 6) Martin Scorsese | Amount Owed: $2,850,000 |
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| | In 2011, Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese joined the list of celebrities who’ve blamed tax troubles on Kenneth Starr, financial adviser to the stars. Starr was convicted of tax fraud last year after such clients as Wesley Snipes, Uma Thurman and Sylvester Stallone accused him of mismanaging and stealing their money. The IRS claimed that Scorsese owed $2.85 million in back taxes and related interest and penalties. A spokesperson for the 63-year-old director called the tax lien a mistake. |
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| 5) Latrell Sprewell | Amount Owed: $3,533,426.49 |
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| | Former-NBA star Latrell Sprewell topped Wisconsin’s list of top 100 delinquent taxpayers in 2011, earning the #1 spot with about $3.5M owed in state taxes. Wisconsin’s delinquent taxpayer list, a.k.a. the “Website of Shame,” successfully helped the state collect $17M in back taxes in 2010. Sprewell ended his NBA career in 2005 by turning down at a 3-year, $21M contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wisconsin no loner has Latrell Sprewell on its top 100 list of delinquent taxpayers so Latrell may have resolved his tax issues. |
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| 4) Roy Jones, Jr. | Amount Owed: $3,575,735 |
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| | Roy Jones, Jr. is a professional boxer who the Boxing Writers Association of America named him the “Fighter of the Decade” for the 1990s. He’s won world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions and now works as an HBO boxing analyst. Last March, Jones was hit with a $629,085 IRS tax lien for unpaid income taxes from 2009. The boxer has additional taxes owed from an unpaid tax lien that the IRS filed against him in 2008 for $2,946,650 in taxes owed for 2003 and 2004, bringing his tax bill to a grand total of more than $3.5M. |
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| 3) Damon Dash | Amount Owed: $4,057,591 |
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| | The IRS filed a massive tax lien against hip-hop mogul Damon Dash last March, claiming that the Roc-A-Fella Records exec owes $2,984,364 in Federal taxes. The latest IRS tax lien, combined with a previous reported unpaid $1 million tax bill for taxes owed to the state of New Jersey, lands Dash in the #4 spot of this year’s Celebrity Tax Offenders list, with a total of more than $4 million owed in state and Federal back taxes. |
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| 2) Lil Wayne | Amount Owed: $5,600,000 |
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| | Rapper Lil Wayne ranked #18 on the 2010 list of celebrity tax offenders for owing $1.3 million in federal taxes. After settling the discrepancy with the IRS last year, he was hit with another tax lien in the amount of $5,610,034 for back taxes from 2008 and 2009. Because the second set of tax penalties – which combined for a total $2,258,956 – only 20 days after Wayne was released from prison, the IRS released the $5.6M tax lien and gave the rapper a second chance to file. |
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| 1) Hélio Castroneves | Amount Owed: $6,300,000 |
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| | It’s no surprise that a former Dancing With the Stars contestant (and winner) tops our list of the 50 most notable tax offending celebs of 2011. Brazilian race car driver Hélio Castroneves was acquitted on six counts of tax evasion back in 2009 after being accused of failing to pay $2.3M in US federal income taxes. However, last May the IRS charged the three-time Indy 500 champion and one-time DWTS champion with two new tax penalties totaling $6.3 million, claiming that Castroneves still owes on earnings made between 1994-2004. |
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Sources:
This post was published on March 26, 2012