Every so often, I will be looking at a different person who has been in the news (past or present) for tax troubles. Maybe they forgot to file, felt entitled not to pay or skipped town. Either way, they have been careless with their taxes and had to face the wrath of the IRS.

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is an American country singer-songwriter and actor. He is known for his songs during the ‘outlaw country’ movement of the 1970s. He still remains very popular today. He continues to tour, sing, and act. He is also well known for his advocacy of legalizing marijuana.

Back in 1990, Nelson was hit with a tax bill of $16.7 million. Since it was such a large bill and Nelson could not pay, the IRS froze his banks accounts and auctioned off many of his possessions in order to satisfy the bill. According the to IRS, the tax problems began for Nelson back in the late 1970s when he was making it big. The IRS claimed that from 1978 to 1982 he did not pay $6.5 million in income taxes. Add on $10.2 million in penalties and interest and you have a hefty sum. Luckily for Nelson, many of his fans bought his possessions from the estate sale and later returned them to him.

Nelson later filed suit against Price Waterhouse Coopers in the amount of $65 million. He stated that it was their fault because they set him up with certain tax shelters that were later struck down by the IRS. The IRS later came back and said that Willie owed over $30 million in back taxes but later settled for $17 million. Willie later released an album titled The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories?. This was released in conjunction with the IRS to help relieve his tax burden.

Nelson has also gone on to poke fun of himself in commercials for H&R Block. You can check this one out below.

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