As excited as I am about the upcoming premiere of “90210″ (and no, I am not embarrassed to say that there’s not an episode of the old one that I haven’t seen), I am a bit perplexed as to why my readers are suddenly searching for news about Tori Spelling.
I haven’t posted about Tori since 2006 following the death of her father (and the ensuing inheritance drama).
Is there a Tori Spelling tax story that I should be aware of? Cause I haven’t seen one…
And I thought Wesley Snipes got off easy… A South Korean court has found former Samsung Chair Lee Kun-hee guilty on tax evasion and securities law violations stemming from transactions allegedly orchestrated on Samsung’s dime - but he escaped jail time.
The 66 year old Kun-hee was accused of avoiding more than $112 million of taxes. Prosecutors had hoped for significant jail time and $347 millions but was merely fined $109 million. Age may have been a factor.
Kun-hee stepped down as Chair of Samsung after the allegations came to light last year. The company was founded by his father Lee Byung-Chul and is the largest employer and exporter in South Korea.
After the verdict, Lee said, “I’m sorry for causing trouble to the people.” Sadly, an apology is more than you will get from most folks these days.
It has not been a good year for Eric Nederlander.
Nederlander is probably best known as the guy that Jessica Sklar married for a few weeks before she left him to marry Jerry Seinfeld (ouch). Nederlander rebounded and subsequently married child psychologist Lindsay Kupferman. The two had a baby in 2007 and Kupferman filed for divorce in 2008.
Adding to his woes, Nederlander and Kupferman, who were named together despite the divorce proceedings, have been liened by the IRS for $223,693. According to the New York Post (no giggles, please), Nederlander had a federal tax lien in 2002 for $207,365 and an outstanding bill from the State of New York State for $251,000.
Could it get any worse for him?
(Hat tip: Maddy)
Paul Hogan, who rose to prominence in the 1980s as “Crocodile Dundee”, feels pretty important these days. He is being pursued by the Australian Tax Office and the Internal Revenue Service for moneys allegedly owed.
Hogan estimates that he has paid the ATO $100 million in tax. Yet, the ATO continues to pursue him - and has asked the IRS for help. Hogan, originally from Australia, now lives in the US.
The IRS has ordered several US banks to hand over records to the ATO - but Hogan has lashed back, claiming that Australian officials were not legally entitled to such information.
Hogan’s very public reaction to the ATO: “Come and get me, you miserable bastards.”
Hogan later continued, speaking about the investigation, “As a guy who brought millions into Australia, they should build a statue at the tax office to me and send me a Christmas card. I lived in America and still paid tax in Australia for 4 1/2 years when I could have paid tax in America, and it would have been cheaper, because I thought we needed the money back home more than they needed it here.”
Apparently, he believes the whole thing is a load of cods wallop…
A federal judge has granted Wesley Snipes’ request to travel overseas while he waits the outcome of his appeal.
Snipes had requested to go to London to sit in on the editing process for his new horror flick Gallowwalker and to fly to Bangkok to film the action thriller Chasing the Dragon. The prosecution argued that Snipes was a flight risk based on his prior behavior but the judge apparently disagreed.
The Department of Justice issued a press release on Monday advising that it has filed court papers to allow the IRS access to request information from UBS AG about US taxpayers who may be using Swiss bank accounts to evade federal income taxes.
The Times had previously reported that UBS might reveal up to 20,000 names in light of the investigation into its banking practices. That has apparently yet to happen. So, the IRS is hoping to serve what is known as a “John Doe” summons on UBS; a John Doe summons is used to obtain information when the exact identities of persons are unknown.
The results could be huge. Last month, former UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the IRS by assisting clients in avoiding US reporting requirements. Birkenfeld claimed that UBS employees assisted wealthy US taxpayers by creating sham entities and then filing IRS forms falsely claiming that the entities were the owners of the accounts. The total of assets at UBS held in this manner - and thus not reported for tax reasons - is said to be close to $20 billion.
What would this information mean to the IRS? Penalties for willful failure to report a foreign account can result in a penalty of up to 50% of the amount in the account. So yeah, the IRS is seeking to recover up to $10 billion in penalties alone.
The results of this case could prove to be big with respect to enforcement of other offshore assets. Similar investigations in other countries, such as Germany, in light of the Liechtenstein scandal, yielded the names of several high profile celebs, sports figures and business people. Who knows what will turn up in Switzerland?
Wesley Snipes has filed a request in federal court for permission to leave the country for two trips while his appeal on tax evasion charges is being considered.
Snipes has requested to go to London to sit in on the editing process for his new horror flick Gallowwalker.
Snipes has also requested permission to fly to Bangkok to film the action thriller Chasing the Dragon. Production is set to begin on that film in early September and last about 8 weeks.
Snipes had been scheduled to report to federal prison on June 3 to serve a three year sentence for failing to file tax returns but is free on bail pending an appeal.
Snipes’ attorneys argued for the request, claiming:
He has never presented and does not currently present a risk of flight. Further, the circumstances of the work, surrounded by a cast of other actors and film and production professionals as well as Mr. Snipes’ contractual obligations to complete these films provide additional assurances that he does not present a risk of flight; were he to abscond under these circumstances, it would destroy his ability to earn a living for the rest if his life. Mr. Snipes will of course voluntarily return after his work on this film, as he has done each time he has been granted permission by this Court.
It is essential that Mr. Snipes complete these two projects to satisfy his civil tax liabilities and provide for his family.
I would agree that in most cases, it’s better to have a taxpayer who is working than one who is not. However, Snipes hasn’t exactly been cooperative with respect to his arrest and his trial. He initially refused to return to the US from Namibia to face charges of tax evasion though he claims that his attorneys told him that they were working it out. Nonetheless, a warrant was issued for his arrest and he responded by comparing himself to a rape victim.
My best guess is that his request will be granted. Of course, I’ve been wrong a couple of times thus far with respect to this Snipes case. The twists and turns have kept it interesting at best…
Keith Olbermann’s trademark “Worst Person In the World” segments - usually reserved for Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly - may be coming back to haunt him. After revelations that he owes the state of New York $2,269 in back taxes for his corporation, Olbermann Broadcasting Empire, many of his former targets are turning the tables.
The New York Post and sites like Olbermann Watch are hammering Olbermann for the tax deficiency, noting that Olbermann has been quick to criticize others in the past.
MSNBC has characterized the tax bill as “a bookkeeping disagreement between Keith’s accountants and the state, which was resolved months ago.” Yet, Olbermann Watch reports that there are now five tax warrants which are still outstanding.
This is one of those tax situations that I just don’t get. Unlike the Wesley Snipes debacle, where millions of dollars are at stake, this is a matter of a few thousand dollars. Why not simply pay the disputed tax and file for refund if you are sure that it’s an error? Many taxpayers aren’t in a financial position to simply pay up and fight later - but I am sure Olbermann is. Why would you expose yourself to this kind of negative publicity - unless - maybe - you like it?
Is there something I’m missing here?
Wesley Snipes better enjoy his Memorial Day weekend. If he doesn’t win his appeal, it may be the last holiday weekend that he enjoys for a few years.
Snipes was scheduled to report to federal prison on June 3 but was granted a reprieve. Nonetheless, Snipes will eventually have to surrender to federal prison authorities to serve his three year prison sentence assuming that it is not overturned on appeal. Snipes’ attorneys plan to argue to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the trial judge erred during Snipes’ trial earlier in the year.
Snipes was granted bail during his appeal, with Judge Hodges ruling, remarkably, that Snipes wasn’t a flight risk. Prosecutors argued that Snipes’ appeal did not have merit and that Snipes has demonstrated he could flee. US Attorney Robert O’Neill cited evidence that Snipes told the probation office after his arrest he had less than $10,000 in liquid assets, but then produced a $5 million payment for back taxes at his sentencing. “His apparent lack of candor about his assets, combined with trial evidence that he has transferred millions of dollars offshore, show some risk of flight,” O’Neill wrote.
Judge Hodges didn’t bite. He granted Snipes bail meaning that Snipes would be free while he awaits his appeal.
Stay tuned!
Lou Pearlman, the man who (a) created some of the most successful boy bands in music history or (b) kickstarted a trend that killed the music industry - depending on your point of view - was sentenced to 25 years in prison following a plea in March to two counts of conspiracy and single counts of money laundering and presenting a false claim in bankruptcy court.
U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp said, however, that he would reduce Pearlman’s sentence by one month for every $1 million returned to investors. Returning the money clearly isn’t going to happen: prosecutors allege Pearlman scammed individuals and banks out of an estimated $300 million. His lawyer claimed that he had returned just over $100 million but the once powerful music mogul now claims to be penniless.
As part of his scheme, Pearlman offered fake tax returns for the years 2003 and 2004 allegedly prepared by the nonexistent accounting firm of Cohen & Siegel.
