27 Sep Celebrity Tax Avoiders: 5 Famous People Who Owed the IRS
While it may seem that tax problems are secluded to common folk, the reality is even famous people get IRS trouble too. When it comes to paying taxes, the IRS doesn’t care what position or how many fans you have. There have been plenty of celebrity tax avoiders in the United States.
Keep reading to learn about 5 famous people who owed the IRS a large sum of money. Odds are you’ll recognize most of these names.
Nicolas Cage
Famous for his roles in Face/Off, National Treasure, and the recent, Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Nicolas Cage isn’t short on money. However, it must’ve been his numerous movie appearances that caused him to forget his IRS debts in the early 2000s. After failing to pay proper IRS debts for five years, he racked up about $13 million in a massive tax bill. It got so bad that Cage received a lien on many of his real estate properties in 2008. He has paid more than $6 million back, but still has some debt to go.
Wesley Snipes
One of the more famous celebrity tax evaders, Wesley Snipes received the worst the IRS could dish out. He had failed to file tax returns for three years, right around the time he was filming the Blade trilogy. It’s estimated he failed to pay about $7 million in taxes. He tried to appeal the results, but was denied. In the end, he was sentenced to prison for three years in 2010 and was released in 2013. He recently lost more than $20 million in a case against the IRS.
Martha Stewart
We all know her name. Martha Stewart has been on TV and magazine covers for a long time, but that wasn’t enough to keep the IRS off her back. Not only did she neglect to pay taxes on her home in New York, but she lied to federal investigators about her stock investments, which led to her serving 18 months in prison. Too bad she couldn’t cook up a way out of that one.
Willie Nelson
An older country singer, Willie Nelson was famous for many hits, including “Who’ll Buy My Memories (The IRS Tapes)”. Nelson had accrued $32 million in back taxes, and the IRS was coming to collect. They levied his property, auctioning off many of his possessions to help pay the bill. The aforementioned album was released as a way to raise funds for his tax debt. In 1993, he paid it all back.
H. Ty Warner
You may not know this man for his name, but you’ll certainly recognize his product. H. Ty Warner was the founder of Beanie Babies (enough said, right?). In eight years, Warner didn’t report more than $20 million to the IRS. This led to a $53 million bill, which Warner paid. Prosecutors tried to have Warner serve jail time, but the court ruled otherwise, as Warner paid his entire bill.
What can we learn from these celebrity tax avoiders? Report all of your income to the IRS. File your returns. Save yourself the headache.
If you already have IRS problems and need help now, then call us at 614-524-4888!
