Just like normal citizens, celebrities also run from taxes. But taxes do catch up eventually and the Hollywood stars land up in trouble with Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Some of the celebrities have had horrifying experiences with taxes and are troubled by their taxes. Here is a list of top 10 celebrities with tax trouble.
1) Nicolas Cage – One of the Hollywood's highest paid actors landed himself in major tax trouble. It was reported in 2009 that the actor owed $14 million unpaid taxes. Cage blamed his business manager for his financial trouble and sued him for $20 million. He was forced to sell his personal assets to pay his tax liabilities.
2) Pamela Anderson – The famous lifeguard from Baywatch and PETA darling is embarrassed by her tax problems. She was on the annual list of neglectful tax payers by the California Franchise Tax Board in 2010. She owed almost half a million unpaid taxes.
3) Wesley Snipes – The actor was charged for tax fraud and conspiracy and was penalized 3 years of imprisonment in 2008. He was charged for false claims of refund for income tax and failing to file income tax return for years 1999 through 2004. He began serving his sentence in December 2010.
4) Marc Anthony – Mr. Jennifer Lopez failed to file returns from 2000-2004, four years in a row. The singer/actor was ordered to pay about $2.5 million back taxes in 2007. He paid his debt and was never charged of any tax crime.
5) Whitney Houston – She had to auction more than 400 personal items to raise money to pay over million dollars that she owed for mortgage on her New Jersey estate in 2006.
6) Chris Tucker – The actor and comedian owed over $11.5 million in taxes for the years 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006. In 2009, the state of California filed a tax lien against the 'Rush Hour' star for not paying $3,594,409 million state tax.
7) Jim Thorpe – The three times PGA Tour winner also had trouble with IRS and was sentenced to one year in prison and 200 hours of community service after he failed to pay income taxes for 2002, 2003 and 2004. He owed over $2 million taxes.
8) Chuck Berry – The famous singer and songwriter had to spend four months in prison after he was found guilty for tax evasion in 1979. He was also ordered to perform 1,000 hours worth of community service (benefit shows/concerts) after he had served in prison.
9) Annie Leibovitz – She is one of the most successful photographers and also owes lot of taxes approximately $1.5 million. She borrowed loan of $24 million but her debt further increased due to back taxes and unpaid mortgages. Leibovitz faced this huge financial mess and had to pay 'gay-tax' due to the death of her partner Susan Sontag.
10) Boris Becker – Former Wimbledon champion, Boris Becker was convicted of tax evasion in 2002. He was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay 3 million euros in back taxes and 500,000 euros in fines and charitable contributions.
