It's true that celebrities get paid lots and lots of money but they sometimes get hit with lots and lots of tax penalties when they don't report their income properly. Over the years many famous people have gotten into trouble with the IRS usually over unpaid back taxes. Here are the top ten celebrity tax problems.
1. Helio Castroneves
According to the IRS, Castroneves, a race car driver, failed to pay taxes on his earnings from a 10 year period between 1994 and 2004. In 2011 the agency charged Castroneves with penalties totaling over $6.3 million.
2. Lil' Wayne
The multi-platinum selling rapper, who served time in prison during 2011, was hit with an IRS tax lien less than three weeks after his release. Due to the timing of the lien, though, the IRS released a previous $5.6 million lien and allowed Lil' Wayne to re-file his taxes in an attempt to settle his account.
3. Damon Dash
Dash, an executive with record label Roc-A-Fella records, owes back taxes to both the federal government and the state government of New Jersey. Between the two debts, Dash owes the government more than $4 million in unpaid taxes.
4. Roy Jones, Jr.
Despite Jones's winning record in the ring he's on the ropes when it comes to his tax bill. The IRS claims that the boxer didn't pay taxes on his income in 2003, 2004, or 2009. In 2008, Jones received his first tax lien for $2.9 million. In March 2011, he received a second for $629,000, bringing his total back tax debt to over $3.5 million.
5. Latrell Sprewell
In 2011, the former NBA player owed the state of Wisconsin over $3.5 million in unpaid taxes. Despite the size of his tax debt Sprewell appears to have settled his account since the government no longer lists him as one of its most delinquent taxpayers.
6. Martin Scorcese
Another victim of fraudulent financial adviser Kenneth Starr, the IRS says that Scorcese owes $2.85 million in back taxes and penalties. Scorcese's staff, however, claims that the tax lien is a mistake.
7. Ozzy, Sharon, and Kelly Osbourne
In 2011 Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne were hit with a tax lien against their home for $1.7 million. Since then the couple has settled their tax troubles. That same year daughter Kelly received a tax lien for $34,000 from the state of California relating to unpaid taxes on income from 2009.
8. Fuzzy Thurston
A former NFL lineman, Fuzzy Thurston racked up a tax bill of over $1.7 million by 2004 due to unpaid payroll taxes from his restaurant. To pay off the debt the IRS seized some of Thurston's property including his championship ring from Super Bowl II.
9. David Allan Coe
This country music singer has had multiple issues with the IRS. Coe had a Key West home seized by the IRS to pay back taxes years ago and he received a tax lien in January 2011 for unpaid taxes on income from 2004, 2007 and 2009. The IRS says Coe owes over $1.6 million.
10. John Rhys-Davies
Rhys-Davies, who starred in the films "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Lord of the Rings," has received two liens from the IRS. Together the liens total over $1.5 million in back taxes.
Celebrities may run into tax problems due to any number of issues: bad investments, fraudulent financiers, or lack of work. Most of the celebrity tax problems, though, seem to be results of simply failing to pay taxes on earned income to the IRS.
