What movies, music, and celebrity headlines can teach us about taxes — Taxgirl’s take on tax in pop culture and the news.
LeBron James is a wanted man. Just after the first day of the NBA free-agent signing period, at least six teams (including his current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers) want a sit down to discuss a deal. Of course, you and I both know that the Cavs don’t have a chance. Despite being able to offer…
Rapper Method Man of the Wu-Tang Clan has pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges. The plea follows Method Man’s October arrest on felony charges of evading New York personal income tax. Method Man, whose real name is Clifford Smith, was accused of failing to pay income and personal taxes to the state of New York…
In one of the more bizarre political alignments, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has recently voiced his support for… Jersey Shore’s Snooki. Snooki lamented in a recent preview that: I don’t go tanning anymore because Obama put a 10% tax on tanning. And I feel like he did that intentionally for us. Snooki is, of course,…
Nicolas Cage has another set of tax woes to add to what he has already described as a “catastrophic” financial meltdown. It’s not just the feds who have come calling; now the state of California wants Cage to pay up as well. The Golden State has filed a lien against the actor and his wife…
Joe Francis, the in and out of trouble founder of the Girls Gone Wild series, has managed to tick off the Department of Justice yet again. This time, he has been accused of criminal contempt for disclosing court documents related to his income tax troubles. Those documents had been sealed by the court. Specifically at…
Taxpayer asks: So you’re a football fan, can you tell me what happens to Ben Roethlisberger after his suspension? Can he claim that lost income as a deduction? Just curious. Thanks. Taxgirl says: Yup, I’m a football fan (though I don’t think I’ll have much to cheer about this season – thanks, Andy Reid). And…
Despite having a banner year with the release of his triple album set last year, the singer possibly known as Prince has been reported as behind on a number of taxes in his home state of Minnesota. Carver County (southwest of Minneapolis) tax records show that the singer’s music company owes more than $227,000 for…
Taxpayer asks: Hi taxgirl, I know this is a weird question but could the IRS take Sinbad’s money from “Celebrity Apprentice” if he had won? He didn’t win because he got fired. But I wanted to know. Thank you. Taxgirl says: I had to look this one up because I didn’t even know that Sinbad…
If you base it on the amount of screaming and jumping in my house alone, the most exciting moment in tonight’s Super Bowl coverage was Carrie Underwood singing the national anthem. But then, to my knowledge, neither Peyton Manning nor Drew Brees has appeared in an evening dress at the same event as Taylor Swift…
Vanity Fair has released its list of the top 40 Hollywood earners in 2009. CNN has the entire list but here’s a peek at the top 10: Michael Bay, producer-director ($125 million) Steven Spielberg, producer-director ($85 million) Roland Emmerich, producer-director ($70 million) James Cameron, producer-director ($50 million) Todd Phillips, director ($44 million) – no relation,…