21 Notorious Celebrity Tax Cheats
Margaret Mitchell wrote in Gone with the Wind, ‘Death, taxes and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them.’ Inconvenient as it is, paying your taxes before the deadline is something you shouldn’t try to get out of. As these celebrities found out, being a tax cheat can cost you… big time.
Don't forget, the deadline to file your taxes is April 30th. If you haven't started yet, you'd better!
-
Shakira
Shakira, Shakira. She's currently being investigated for tax evasion between 2011 and 2014, when she was living in Spain. The fiery singer could owe as much as $300-million after years of unpaid taxes, ET Canada reports.
And if you aren't sure about Canadian tax laws, be sure to review top 10 Canadian tax myths, busted. -
Nicolas Cage
Failing to pay his taxes in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007 landed Nicolas Cage a tax bill to the tune of $13 million. In 2012, the Daily Mail reported that the actor had to sell assets such as properties, yachts and a dinosaur skull to pay off his debt to the taxman. And if multiple properties, yachts, and dinosaur skulls made you curious about just what kind of wealth exists out there, take a look at the 20 richest people in the world. -
Willie Nelson
In 1990, when Willie Nelson couldn’t pay the millions of dollars he owed in back taxes, the government raided his home and took almost everything except his guitar. As Forbes tells the story, the country star then reached a compromise with the taxman, releasing an album and sharing the revenue with the IRS.
While Nelson's guitar may not be on the list of the most expensive things in the world, it sure made us wonder about its value. -
Robert De Niro
In February 2015, the Daily Mail reported that Robert De Niro had to pay the IRS over $6.4 million in back taxes. The legendary actor claimed that the IRS had sent their tax notifications to the wrong address. As far as reasons go, that may be a bad one, but it's not as bad as the most outrageous tax claims Canadians have made. -
Pamela Anderson
Canadian celebrities generally stay out of trouble with the taxman but in 2012, the New York Daily News reported that Baywatch star Pamela Anderson was facing federal and state tax liens in the United States. This was the third time that she got in trouble over unpaid taxes.
You may also like: the most outrageous tax claims Canadians have made. -
Stephen Baldwin
When he failed to pay his New York State income tax for three years, Stephen Baldwin was arrested and appeared in court. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2013 that the actor, famous as one of The Usual Suspects, had to pay $300,000 or face a jail sentence.
You may also like: 15 retirement tax tips that'll save you. -
-
Richard Hatch
When Richard Hatch won the first season of Survivor, he put his $1 million winnings in a bank account and didn’t file his tax return on it. He ended up spending 51 months in jail and then, as Forbes reports, had to serve another nine months because he hadn’t amended his tax returns for 2000 and 2001.
For more, check out the top 10 tax havens in the world. -
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes made the mistake of listening to advisors who told him he didn’t have to pay income tax. In 2008, he was sentenced to three years in prison for not filing his tax returns for 1999 to 2001 and began his sentence in 2010.
The actor was released early and, according to TMZ, spent the last few months of his sentence under house arrest. -
Chuck Berry
According to his biography in Rolling Stone, Chuck Berry got into trouble with the law several times during his long career, on charges ranging from transporting a minor across state lines to drug possession.
The rock ’n roll legend also spent 100 days in prison for tax evasion back in 1979 and held benefit concerts as part of the 1,000 hours of additional community service he had to perform. He passed on March 18, 2017, at age 90.
Do yourself a favour: don't buy into these personal finance myths. -
Ja Rule
Another musical bad boy, Ja Rule had just started a two-year prison sentence for illegal gun possession when he received another 28-month sentence for tax evasion. In 2013, the Grammy-winning rapper was released two months early, according to the Daily Mail, and spent the rest of the sentence under house arrest. -
Dionne Warwick
Mismanagement of her financial affairs meant that Dionne Warwick ended up owing the taxman $10 million. In 2013, The Huffington Post reported that the R&B legend had to file for bankruptcy because she couldn’t pay the interest and penalties.
You may also like: 11 countries with higher income tax rates than Canada. -
Lauryn Hill
During her tax-evasion trial, singer Lauryn Hill told the judge that she had meant to pay her taxes but couldn’t during the time she had dropped out of the music business, according to People. She owed $1 million and ended up spending three months in prison, with another three months under house arrest. -
Bar Refaeli
In December 2015, Israeli authorities arrested supermodel Bar Refaeli for tax evasion and set bail at about $118,000. According to TMZ, she was accused of not declaring all the money she earned abroad, not declaring non-cash payments and not paying taxes on her apartment in Tel Aviv. -
Chris Tucker
Chris Tucker failed to pay his income tax in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006, racking up a debt of more than $12 million. TMZ then reported in 2014 that the comedian was slapped with another tax lien, this time for nearly $2.5 million, for not paying up in 2008 and 2010 either. -
Leona Helmsley
When she died in 2007, Leona Helmsley wasn’t remembered for her business skills as much as for her nickname, the ‘Queen of Mean’. Her obituary in The Guardian also quoted her as having told her housekeeper, ‘We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.’ In the late 1980s, she spent 18 months in jail for tax evasion. -
Al Capone
Probably the most notorious tax cheat of all time was gangster Al Capone. He had been connected to a host of illegal activities, including murder, but it was tax evasion that eventually got him an 11-year prison sentence.
Taxes aren't the only thing A-listers have cheated on! See 20 celebrities who married their mistresses.
Latest Money Photos
-
10 Things You Need to Know About RRSPs
-
20 Ideas From Millionaires That Cost You Nothing
-
10 Common Tax Mistakes Canadians Make Every Year
-
10 Money Myths About Investments that Canadians Still Believe
-
20 Most Expensive Places to Live in 2019 in Canada
-
Canadian Jobs That Let You Retire Early