A pop star whose whereabouts could cost her millions. A folk record released to pay off
back taxes. Celebrity status just couldn't get these musicians out from the tax collector's grip.
Back in the early 2000s, rapper Ja Rule was famous enough to cross over
into acting in films like The Fast and the Furious and Scary Movie 3. However,
his run on top subsided quite a bit by the following decade, which might have
something to do with the serious tax issues he began to face at that time.
In 2011, Ja Rule pled guilty on three counts of not filing a tax return from 2004 to 2008.
He had to pay the government over $1.1 million, and he also could have received prison time for
up to a year on each count. On top of that, he was already facing two years in prison for the
illegal possession of a firearm in 2007. He was ultimately able to serve out both
sentences concurrently and only remained locked up for a few months after the first term ended.
However, in 2021, Ja Rule's tax issues continued as both he and his wife were sued by the IRS. In
court documents obtained by Radar, he outright refused to pay the $3.1 million he allegedly
owed the government, so the agency demanded that the court enter a judgment. Ultimately,
the rapper reportedly agreed to pay the entire $3.1 million.
A decade after Lauryn Hill left The Fugees to release her 1998 Grammy-winning solo album,
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she left public life to focus on raising her kids.She then ran
into legal trouble when it was determined that she had not properly paid taxes for
the wealth she accumulated in the years following her massive success. In 2012,
Hill took to Tumblr to explain her side of the story. According to her, the issues
arose because she was desperate to get away from people who had manipulated her. As she put it,
"It was critically important that I find a suitable pathway within which to exist,
without being distorted or economically strong-armed. Failure to create a non-toxic,
non-exploitative environment was not an option."
Hill stressed that her taxes were covered in full up to this point and then added,
"This only stopped when it was necessary to withdraw from society,
in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of myself and my family."
Hill's explanation wasn't enough to avoid charges, though. In 2013,
she was handed a three-month prison sentence for not paying taxes on $1.8 million worth of
income gained from 2005 to 2007, which was followed by a year of parole supervision.
"When the government's asking for 36 months and the judge gives three months,
I think the judge gave a fair and reasonable sentence."
In the 90s and early 2000s, Fat Joe was a regular presence on the Billboard charts,
and he also racked up multiple Grammy nominations. But his rise to stardom
came at a price, including a sizable debt to the United States government.
In 2013, Fat Joe was sentenced to serve four months in prison for unfiled tax returns from
2007 to 2010. During that time, he earned an impressive $3.3 million, but he didn't
pay any taxes on that income, according to the Department of Justice. On top of the prison
sentence, he was also fined $15,000 and put under one year of supervision once released
from custody. It could've been worse, though. Joe actually faced up to two years in prison,
but he was granted leniency after paying $718,000 in back taxes before the sentencing.
In 1991, Willie Nelson released a somewhat controversial album called The IRS Tapes:
Who'll Buy My Memories? It was part of an effort to help him pay an enormous bill in
back taxes. Initially, he owed $32 million, but that total was later decreased to $16 million.
In an interview with The New York Times that year, the country singer explained,
"I thought they'd be crazy not to take it. The very fact they
see a way to make a lot of money real quick made them go for it. They're not
interested in sitting around waiting 10 or 20 years for the money to trickle in."
IRS spokesperson Valerie Thornton concurred by noting,
"We try to work with taxpayers, not just Mr. Nelson. And if we have to come up with some
creative payment plan, that's what we're going to do, because it's in everyone's best interest."
And the plan was ultimately a success, as Nelson managed to earn $3.6 million
in sales from the album. The real hero for the musician was his lawyer Jay Goldberg,
who did so well at the negotiating table that he reportedly managed
to lower the total Nelson owed even further down to $6 million.
Chuck Berry was a revolutionary musical architect who laid down the basis of rock 'n' roll. He
created a fusion of juke joint R&B, blues, and hillbilly boogie to create a truly original sound,
delivering classic hits like "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven."
Despite his many sonic innovations, all of his achievements couldn't stop the IRS from calling.
And so, as reported by The New York Times, in 1979 Berry pled guilty to tax evasion to
the tune of $110,000 that he owed on income earned in 1973. He then served a four-month
sentence at a minimum-security prison in Lompoc, California. Interestingly enough, two convicts of
the Watergate scandal, H.R. Haldeman and John Dean, were also serving time there as well.
Toni Braxton has enjoyed massive success over the course of her career,
having released several platinum albums. She has also won numerous Grammys, and is just one
of a handful of artists to have received the honor across three decades. Despite her massive success,
Braxton has dealt with her share of serious financial struggles. Braxton
admitted to ABC News these complications were due in part to her expensive taste.
"The money's lovely. I can't deny the money is yummy."
In 1996, and then again in 2010, she was reportedly forced to file
for bankruptcy due to excessive debt, which included unpaid taxes. Fortunately,
most of what she owed was wiped away in 2011, but her troubles didn't end there.
In 2018, Braxton had two tax liens filed against her, totaling over $450,000 from
the previous year, according to court documents obtained by The Blast. The
IRS and the State of California also demanded that she pay what was owed as
quickly as possible or else they would resort to seizing her valuables to cover the cost.
Many celebrities are rich enough that they can hire experts to deal with the mundane but very
important aspects of managing their finances. This was certainly the case for singer-songwriter
Marc Anthony, but it didn't quite work out as smoothly as he'd hoped. Anthony had trusted
his accountant to file his tax returns for him, but the supposed professional did such
a poor job that taxes for $15.5 million worth of income from 2001 to 2004 were left unpaid.
Once the massive discrepancy was detected, neither Anthony nor Jennifer Lopez,
whom he married in 2004, were charged with any wrongdoing. Instead, the blame was placed almost
entirely on both his accountant and manager, who were both charged with tax crimes. Anthony did
enter a plea deal though, which required him to pay the $2.5 million that he owed.
A few years later, Anthony was back in financial quicksand, as Radar discovered documents from
2010 with demands from New York authorities to pay back taxes of almost $3.5 million.
It is currently unknown whether or not Anthony has since paid off this second bout of fees. However,
as of 2018, Page Six reports that Anthony was in such comfortable financial standing
that he didn't even notice when his accountant covertly stole millions of dollars from him.
For some musicians, their celebrity status can reach such a high level that it becomes
difficult to keep track of all their assets, let alone what they owe to Uncle Sam. Once
recreational drugs get added into the mix, you might not be surprised to learn that managing
finances can get even more complicated. This was certainly the case for rapper Clifford Smith Jr.,
also known as Method Man, when the tax men came to seize his SUV to cover over
$50,000 in debt. Speaking with reporters about the mistake, Method Man admitted,
"Because I got high, I forgot to pay. It was stupid."
Although he never admitted as much, a similar situation may have arisen when
the Wu-Tang clan member was charged with tax evasion in 2010 for failing to make
his full payments to the state and federal government from 2004 to 2007. Fortunately,
the error was relatively minor this time around, and he quickly paid the total of
about $100,000 without the incident making it on his permanent record.
Over a decade later, it seems Method Man now takes precautions to ensure
that both the personal and financial elements of his life run more smoothly.
"I have a lot of people around me that let me know when I'm,
uh, full of s---. And, uh, it keeps me pretty grounded."
In 2000, Luciano Pavarotti, one of the most acclaimed opera singers of all time,
agreed to pay $12.5 million in back taxes to the Italian government. But at the same time,
he didn't exactly agree with the charges that were
leveled against him. As he claimed to the Italian newspaper La Stampa,
"I wish to emphasize that I am innocent. I have always paid my taxes wherever I have sung but the
Italian state believes I have not paid enough. I do not want to be known as a tax evader."
Pavarotti then added a logical reason why there could be some confusion, saying,
"It's very difficult to explain the life of one
who travels the world and who every year visits 50 different cities."
Pavarotti managed to remain somewhat lighthearted over the controversy,
as he reportedly joked to an Italian media outlet,
"I feel light — in the mind and also in the pocketbook."
That defiance and optimism ultimately paid off, as the very next year Pavarotti was
completely cleared of his charges. That was quite the fortunate turn of events,
as a conviction could have meant three years behind bars.
Colombian pop star Shakira has been embroiled in one of the most extreme cases of alleged
tax evasion by a musician in recent years. According to Spanish law, if you spend more
than 183 days in the country, you're legally required to pay income taxes. Spanish officials
claim that she exceeded that limit between 2012 and 2014, and that she therefore owes
the government 14.5 million euros in back taxes. The singer, however, denies these accusations.
From her perspective, Shakira has been unjustly targeted as a source of wealth because there is
no way she was in Spain for that long, although she did own property. During those years,
she was on tour most of the time, and when she began dating Spanish footballer Gerard Pique,
she was out of the country for 240 days. She believes that it was her relationship
with Pique that led the authorities to come after her. She explained to Elle in 2022,
"It is well known that the Spanish tax authorities do this often not only with celebrities like
me [...] it also happens unjustly to the regular taxpayer. It's just their style. But I'm confident
that I have enough proof to support my case and that justice will prevail in my favor."
A trial has been approved by a judge near Barcelona, though as of 2022 the day in court
has not yet been set. In the meantime, Shakira and her lawyers are building their case to prove
her innocence. If found guilty, she faces the severe consequence of eight years in prison.
"Shakira also called the tax allegations against her, quote, 'fictional claims.'"
Rapper Earl Simmons, better known by the stage name DMX, is another musician who
was able to crossover into film at the height of his career. In the early 2000s,
he acted in action flicks such as Exit Wounds and Cradle 2 the Grave. But his skyrocketing ascent to
fame was a complicated adjustment for someone who had only known struggle throughout his life. So,
serious mistakes were made when DMX did not pay the required amount of taxes from 2000 to 2005,
adding up to a reported total of $1.7 million due to the IRS.
In 2018, DMX was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to one count of
tax fraud. though the rapper could have faced a sentence five times as long. Fortunately,
the judge in his case felt empathy for the rapper and could see that he was a good person,
so he doled out a considerably lighter sentence. DMX also apologized for his actions in court, and
was even allowed to have a portion of his popular song, "Slippin'," played in the courtroom as well.
The performer was released from jail in January 2019, and sadly passed away in April of 2021.