In previous posts we have alerted our Minneapolis readers about the perils of ignoring letters from the Internal Revenue Service about back taxes owed. The IRS is seeking to step up its collections through audits and an increased emphasis on unreported income from offshore bank accounts. Other countries are cooperating with the IRS in this effort, and it turns out the IRS is returning the favor.
It was recently reported that a recording artist known as Prince was summoned to meet with the IRS to determine if he owes taxes for performances in France in 2009 and 2010. It was also reported that the singer and songwriter did not show up in response to the summons request.
There are other performing artists who have run into trouble with the IRS for either not filing or not paying taxes.
- Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter owed more than $3 million for 2008 tax year and more than $2 million for 2009. The IRS filed a tax lien in 2011.
- David “Sinbad” Adkins owed $8.5 million for the 2010 tax year to the IRS and $2.1 million to California.
- Wesley Snipes is serving a three-year prison sentence for failing to file his income taxes and owing a reported $7 million. He is scheduled for release on July 19, 2013.
Prince was also recently required to pay $1.3 million in delinquent Minnesota property taxes. Currently, the court has been asked to enforce his appearance before the IRS to respond to the potential taxes owed to France.
Source: Huffington Post, “Prince A No-Show For IRS Summons Over French Tax Investigation,” Sept. 18, 2012
At our Minneapolis law firm we represent clients with the full range of federal and state tax issues including IRS audits and assisting clients who have outstanding tax debt.
