Top 7 Tax Resolution Lessons Learned from the Worst Cases of Celebrity Tax Evasion

No one is safe from the IRS! Famous people have IRS troubles just like average people. But you have the edge over the A-list. You can learn very important lessons on how to avoid IRS tax problems from these celebrity tax evasion cases.

With paparazzi watching their every move and stalkers digging through their trash, being a celebrity tax cheater is an amazingly stupid thing to do. In the blink of an eye, celebrity tax cheaters can go from wearing designer fashions at fancy red carpet events to wearing orange prison jumpsuits for tax evasion. Fortunately, these celebrity tax evasion cases can teach important tax cheating lessons when the IRS accuses you of tax evasion.

Access Hollywood recently put together a list of celebrity tax cheaters who found themselves in taxing situations with Uncle Sam. Celebrity tax cheats also find themselves at the top of California’s list of the people who owe the most in back taxes, which is ranked by amount owed, not celebrity status.
If you think moving overseas will help your tax evasion plans, you should know that many countries such as the UK have set up special VIP celebrity tax evasion squads to go after high profile celebrity tax cheats. As many celebrity tax cheaters and regular Joes looking for a little tax evasion have learned the hard way, the world's "tax havens" like Switzerland are no longer as secretive about their celebrity tax cheating clients.

The list of celebrity tax cheaters is impressive: Leona Helmsley, Al Capone, Judy Garland, Annie Liebovitz, O.J. Simpson, Luciano Pavarotti, Martha Stewart, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, David Brenner, Anna Kournikova, Lea Thompson, Method Man, Floyd Mayweather, Jim Thorpe, MC Hammer, Nicolas Cage, Stephen Baldwin, Toni Braxton, Robin Givens, Dionne Warwick, Sinbad, Buster Keaton and Willie Nelson.

Let these celebrity tax cheaters' pains be your gain. Here are some important tax evasion lessons you can learn from these celebrity tax cheaters:

1.    Marc Anthony's celebrity tax evasion lesson: Trust, but verify. Celebrity tax cheater Anthony's (singer, actor and J-Lo’s hubby) tax evasion problems started with four years of unfiled tax returns. With the help some of the best tax attorneys money can buy, he convinced the IRS that he didn't commit tax evasion because he trusted his financial team to file the returns for him. According to Anthony, he didn't know he was a celebrity tax cheater and was surprised to discover his team had gotten him on the hook for tax evasion. Because he convinced the IRS he wasn't complicit in the unfiled tax returns, Anthony escaped the celebrity tax cheater label (and more importantly tax evasion jail time), but still had to pay $2.5 million in back taxes. The tax evasion lesson here is to confirm that your taxes have been filed. If you suspect someone on your team is making you a tax cheater, or hasn't been acting properly, contact a tax attorney immediately.

2.    Sophia Loren's celebrity tax cheating lesson: Even an innocent spouse can end up doing jail time. The tax evasion case against the Italian screen siren had more to do with her celebrity tax cheater husband Carlo Ponti's unpaid taxes, but Loren ended up doing 17 days of a 30-day sentence in a Naples jail for tax evasion. If you file a joint return, your neck is on the tax evasion line for your tax cheater spouse's taxes. Many couples appoint one partner to handle the finances. If you feel your tax cheater spouse hasn't been faithful with their taxes, take your returns to a tax attorney or tax resolution specialist to see if you qualify for innocent spouse relief.

3.    Abbott and Costello's celebrity tax cheating lesson: Don't let your nice guy image get in the way of avoiding a tax evasion problem. Although he played the fool in the movies, Lou Costello (the dumb one of the comedy duo) was the more astute businessman and Bud Abbott (the smart one) was constantly making bad business decisions. Sometimes our self or public image prevents us from being assertive with our business and financial advisers when it comes to the topic of tax evasion. This lack of follow-through cost the celebrity tax cheating comedy duo dearly. According to Wikipedia, in 1956, the Internal Revenue Service charged the celebrity tax cheaters with tax evasion, forcing them to sell their homes and most of their assets, including their lucrative film rights. In 1957 they formally dissolved their partnership. Don't let a tax evasion problem destroy your partnerships, always asks tough tax evasion questions of your financial team. And contact a tax evasion attorney or certified tax resolution firm immediately if you need tax help with your IRS problems.

4.    Wesley Snipes's celebrity tax cheating lesson: Write your politics on your blog, not on your tax forms. According to his tax evasion trial coverage, one of the reasons celebrity tax cheater Wesley Snipes didn't file his tax returns was due to bad tax evasion advice that was politically motivated. Although failure to file your taxes is a misdemeanor, celebrity tax cheater Snipes was sentenced to three years of jail time and millions in back taxes and tax evasion penalties. You may have heartfelt political or religious feelings about how your taxes are used, or even the validity of the U.S. Government to levy taxes, but put those tax evasion thoughts in your blog, not on your tax forms. Once you file (or don't file) your taxes, it becomes tax evasion, which can send you to jail. If you've gotten on the tax cheating side of a political tax protest, contact a tax evasion attorney before the IRS or other G-men come knocking on your door.

5.    Richard Hatch's celebrity tax cheating lesson: Don't "forget" to pay taxes on income (especially when 51 million people saw you get it). As the first winner on Survivor, celebrity tax cheater Richard Hatch argued that he wasn't guilty of tax evasion because he believed that CBS had paid the taxes on his million-dollar win (despite clear language in his contract explaining that he was liable for paying all taxes). If you get advice that says you don't have to pay taxes on income, get a second opinion. If you make serious bucks, have your financial team's tax work audited by another firm. If you think you've been given bad tax evasion advice, run, do not walk, to your nearest tax attorney or tax resolution specialist.

6.    Joe Francis's celebrity tax evasion lesson: Just because you're incorporated, doesn't make everything you grope a "deduction". The celebrity tax cheater producer of the Girls Gone Wild videos claimed more than $20 million in phony tax deductions. His tax cheating returns were more like Accountants Gone Wild. If you've got some filer's remorse, and suspect that you might be guilty of tax evasion, you can always file an amended return, but consult with a tax evasion attorney first. You don't want your amended return to be seen as an admission of guilt for more serious tax evasion charges.

7.    Darryl Strawberry's and Pete Rose's celebrity tax evasion lesson: What part of INCOME taxes don't you get? At one time, celebrity tax cheaters Darryl Strawberry and Pete Rose were baseball's biggest stars, making their autographed memorabilia very valuable. While these celebrity tax cheaters could rattle off their statistics for every season, the one figure they forgot to include was the income from autograph and memorabilia shows. When they autographed their tax returns without that income, they became celebrity tax evaders. Celebrity tax cheater Strawberry was ordered to pay $450,000 in back taxes, while celebrity tax cheater Rose had to pay $366,000 and went to jail for five months for tax evasion. If you've "forgotten" some income (such as eBay profits), you're a tax cheater. Consult a certified tax resolution specialist or tax attorney on how to amend your IRS return without getting hit with severe penalties for tax evasion.

You may envy the fortune and glory of these celebrity tax cheaters, but if you take these celebrity tax evasion lessons to heart, you'll have something more valuable than fame or fortune. You'll have your financial and personal freedom.