Despite having millions in the bank, celebrities are just like everyday taxpayers and sometimes experience their fair share of tax woes. These 10 celebrities are well-known for their work on the big screen or in concert as well as the fact that they were charged with tax evasion. 

What is Tax Evasion? 

Tax evasion is the federal crime of purposely not filing and paying your income taxes. It can involve the outright refusal to pay what you owe to the state or IRS. It also can involve underpaying what you owe. 

Tax evasion as a crime can be applied to individual taxpayers as well as business owners, corporations, and organizations. It is punishable by federal law and can result in expensive civil penalties as well as jail sentences. It also applies to all kinds of taxes including: 

• Income tax
• Sales tax
• Employment tax
• Other federal, state, and local taxes

No taxpayer can succeed at getting away with tax evasion. At some point, the IRS will catch onto the fact that a person has not filed or paid his or her taxes. When a person is found out to have committed tax evasion, he or she can be subject to a variety of punishments including having assets seized, paying costly fines, and possibly going to prison. 

Moreover, tax evasion is not a crime reserved for the common everyday taxpayer. Dozens of celebrities have been charged with and punished for tax evasion. 

Wesley Snipes 

Wesley Snipes made headlines in 2010 when he was charged with tax evasion. Snipes insisted he did not have to pay his taxes because he did not consider himself to be a citizen of the U.S. on the grounds of religious beliefs. 

The IRS disagreed and charged him with tax evasion after he refused to file and pay taxes from 1999 to 2004. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was released in 2013. He also had to pay a tax bill of $10 million along with penalties and interest. 

Annie Leibovitz 

Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz found herself charged with tax evasion after failing to pay a tax bill of $2.4 million. While she was not sentenced to jail time, she did have to use several of her house as collateral to secure a bank loan with which to pay her back taxes. She also had to give up copyrights to some of her past and future photographs. 

Martha Stewart 

Martha Stewart famously went to prison for insider trading. However, she was also charged with tax evasion after not paying more than $200,000 to the state of New York. 

Her back tax issue resulted from her failure to pay taxes on one of her homes. She said that because she did not spend a lot of time there that she did not think she should have to pay taxes on that particular house. The state of New York disagreed and charged her with tax evasion. She has since resolved the tax obligation.

Lindsay Lohan 

Troubled child actress Lindsay Lohan has been in and out of jail for a number of offenses. However, tax evasion is not one of them. Instead, when the IRS charged her with evasion in 2012, it immediately seized control of her numerous bank accounts. It sought to settle her back tax bill of more than $233,000. 

Fortunately for Lohan, fellow actor Charlie Sheen came to her rescue. He personally paid $100,000 of what she owed to the IRS. 

Richard Hatch 

Richard Hatch is best known for winning the first season of Survivor. However, he also became infamous for not reporting his $1 million winnings to the IRS. 

The IRS caught up with him and charged him with tax evasion. He was sentenced to six years in prison with the understanding that he would file amended returns and pay his tax bill immediately upon his release from jail. 

However, after he got out of jail, he failed to file the amended returns or pay what he owed to the IRS. He received another prison sentence for evasion in 2011. 

Willie Nelson 

Iconic country crooner Willie Nelson found himself charged with tax evasion because of the negligence of investment brokers working for Price Waterhouse. Nelson claimed that his investment brokers put his money in stocks and bonds and failed to pay his federal taxes for him. 

The IRS nonetheless charged him with tax evasion in 1990. He had to pay a tax bill of $16 million. He also had to pay fines for his involvement with a bogus tax shelter. 

Nicolas Cage 

Nicolas Cage also faulted someone else for his failure to file and pay taxes prior to 2009. He blamed his management team for not filing or paying what he owed to the IRS. He was charged with tax evasion in 2009 to the tune of more than $6 million. 

While insisting the blame was not his, Cage also immediately made the situation right with the IRS. He paid his back taxes and escaped being sentenced to prison. 

Marc Anthony 

For many people, Marc Anthony is best known for being the ex-husband of Jennifer Lopez. However, to others he is known for not filing or paying federal taxes for several years prior to 2007. 

In 2007, the IRS caught up with Anthony, charging him with tax evasion on a bill of more than $2.5 million. He blamed his management team. The IRS responded that he actually did not file or make any payments for several years before he was caught and charged him with this crime. 

Bar Rafaeli 

Israeli supermodel Bar Rafaeli and her mother were charged with tax evasion in 2015. She was found guilty of not paying on a tax bill of $20 million. She also never reported that she received perks like luxury cars and houses. She and her mother were released on a bail of $193,000. 

Iggy Izalea 

Hip hop star Iggy Izalea found herself charged with tax evasion in 2016 on a tax bill of $391,000. The IRS declared that she did not report any of her income for several years prior. She also did not make tax payments on or report perks gifted to her as part of her income. 

How Top Tax Defenders Can Help 

These celebrities show that anyone can be charged with tax evasion if you fail to file and pay your taxes. If you are at risk of being or have already been charged with tax evasion, it is critical that you hire an experienced tax resolution specialist to help you. 

Top Tax Defenders may be able to help you substantiate circumstances in your case that resulted in you failing to file and pay taxes. You might have accidentally forgotten to claim some of your income, for example, or forgot the date by which the return had to be filed. With Top Tax Defenders' help, you may avoid expensive fines and jail time for tax evasion. 

Tax evasion is a serious federal crime that can result in you going to jail. You can stay out of prison and avoid paying expensive fines and penalties by defending yourself against the charge of tax evasion. You can hire the tax resolution specialists at Top Tax Defenders to help with your case today.