Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Celebrity Tax Lore
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“I’d Like to Teach the World to Tax” — Coke Opposes Soda Tax
The CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent, has published an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal, Coke Didn't Make America Fat: Americans Need More Exercise, Not Another Tax: Obesity is a complex issue, and addressing it is important for all Americans. We at the Coca-Cola company are committed to working with government and health…
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Rapper Method Man (Clifford Smith) Arrested on Tax Charges
Associated Press CNN E! Online Entertainment Weekly MTV New York Daily News TMZ (Hat Tip: Ann Murphy.)
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Stanford Law Grad-Call Girl Sentenced to Home Confinement Following Guilty Plea in Tax Evasion Case
I previously blogged (here, here, and here) the case of 2001 Stanford Law Grad Cristina Warthen, who pled guilty in January 2009 in California federal district court to failing to pay taxes on $133,717 she earned as a prostitute in 2003 (United States v. Warthen, No. CR-08-682). From today's New York Daily News, Law School Grad…
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IRS Denies Deduction for Homes Donated to Fire Departments and Burned Down
Following up on my prior post, IRS Burns Kirk Herbstreit's Donation of Home to Fire Department: the Associated Press picks up on the story in Burning Down the House? IRS Nixes Tax Deductions: Lured by the prospect of free demolition, homeowners around the country sometimes offer their houses to the local fire department for training…
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Mr. Tax Law Writing Tax Evader
(Hat Tip: Russ Fox.) Prior TaxProf Blog coverage: WaPo Calls on Rangel to Resign (9/3/09) The Clock Is Ticking on Tax Cheat Charlie Rangel (9/1/09) More Tax Problems for Rep. Rangel (8/29/09) Morality and Charlie Rangel’s Taxes: It’s Much Easier to Raise Taxes If You Don’t Pay Them (7/27/09) "Rangel Rule" Would Exempt All Taxpayers…
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‘Girls Gone Wild’ Founder Joe Francis Cops Tax Plea
Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis plead guilty yesterday to two misdemeanor counts of filing false tax returns (and one count of bribing Nevada jail workers in exchange for food). The plea agreement calls for Francis to pay $250,000 in restitution and receive credit for jail time served. In the agreement, Francis acknowledged omitting over $500,000 in interest income…
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Celebrity Tax News: Floyd Mayweather, Jim Thorpe
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. agreed to pay $5.6 million in back taxes before the IRS would be able to seize the money from his $10 million purse after his Saturday fight against Juan Manuel Marquez. Associated Press Los Angeles Times New York Times Following up on my prior post, Golfer Jim Thorpe Charged With Failing to Pay…
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Sloan: Zell Seeks $300m Tax Savings From ‘Sale’ of Chicago Cubs for $845m
Following up on my prior posts: Tax Breaks Fuel Sale of Chicago Cubs for $845m (9/17/09) Lawsky: The Tax Savings Behind the Sale of the Chicago Cubs for $845m (9/18/09) Lawsky: More on The Tax Savings Behind the Chicago Cubs Sale (9/21/09) Allan Sloan examines the tax implication of the Cubs sale (without mentioning this prior coverage)…
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Trailer for An Inconvenient Tax
I previously blogged the forthcoming documentary, An Inconvenient Tax. Here is the official trailer: The filmmakers have assembled a distinguished group of two dozen interviewees for the film, including Tax Profs Michael Graetz (Columbia) and Dan Shaviro (NYU).
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Lawsky: More on The Tax Savings Behind the Chicago Cubs Sale
Sarah Lawsky (George Washington) expands on Friday's post, The Tax Savings Behind the Sale of the Chicago Cubs for $845m: First, the deal may not be so bullet-proof. In a Chicago Tribune story published earlier this year (which unfortunately does not appear to be available on line for free), Robert Willens pointed out that the IRS…
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Police Seize Maradona’s Earrings for Back Taxes
While former soccer star and current Argentina national team coach Diego Maradona was visiting a fat farm in Italy, local authorities seized his earrings to help pay off a $54 million tax liability from his playing days for the Napoli soccer team (1984-1991). ABC News BBC CNN New York Times Reuters
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Lawsky: The Tax Savings Behind the Sale of the Chicago Cubs for $845m
Sarah Lawsky (George Washington) shares her thoughts on the tax savings driving the sale of the Chicago Cubs: Yesterday, Paul linked to an article about the acquisition of the Chicago Cubs. The article said "tax breaks" would allow Tribune Company (the seller) and Tom Ricketts (the buyer) to "save hundreds of millions of dollars." It…
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Donor’s Suicide After $30m Gift to Harvard Law School and Tax Evasion Investigation Raises Issues of IRS Clawback, Enforceability of Pledge
In today's Harvard Crimson, Caspersen Taxes May Be Suspect: Harvard Law School’s biggest donor, who died last week in an apparent suicide, may have owed up to $100 million in back taxes and fines, the New York Times reported this week. Finn M.W. Caspersen, who gave over $30 million to the Law School and tens…
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Tax Breaks Fuel Sale of Chicago Cubs for $845m
Yahoo Sports, Buying Cubs Could be a Steal for Ricketts, by Josh Peter: A businessman has agreed to pay $845 million for the Chicago Cubs … The Cubs pocket more than $2 million for each of their 81 regular-season home games, based on financial information Yahoo! Sports obtained from three people familiar with the pending deal…
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Jon Stewart on the ACORN Tax Scandal
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c The Audacity of Hos www.thedailyshow.com Daily ShowFull Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests
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Bernie Madoff Gets $13,800 Tax Refund
Palm Beach Post, Madoffs Get $13,800 Property Tax Rebate: Palm Beach County wrote the couple a $13,800 check — a rebate, handing back taxes the Madoffs paid on their Palm Beach mansion. The county had little choice, experts say: The Madoffs' property had been overvalued, so they'd paid too much in taxes and legally were…
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Lamest Accountant Video “Winners”
In my article, Tax Myopia, or Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Tax Lawyers, 13 Va. Tax Rev. 517, 520 n.6 (1994), I quoted James Gordon's great line: "A tax lawyer is a person who is good with numbers but who does not have enough personality to be an accountant." Based on these videos…
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More Celebrity Tax Woes
Julio Cesar Chavez (former Mexican boxer): IRS $12,770,685 tax lien Miguel Ferrer (actor (RoboCop); cousin of George Clooney: IRS $289,800 tax lien Jerry Koosman (former New York Mets player): plead guilty to failure to pay $90,000 of federal income taxes for 2002-2004 Blake Lewis (former American Idol contestant): IRS $124,798 tax lien Darrren McCarty (former Detroit Red…
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Joe Francis to Use “Deductions Gone Wild” Defense in Tax Evasion Trial
Following up on my earlier posts (below): The Smoking Gun reports that Joe Francis, founder of the Girls Gone Wild video series, is going to use a slide show to try to convince a jury in his upcoming tax evasion trial that various expenses are deductible as business expenses: As part of Joseph Francis's opening statement in U.S. District Court…
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Maid Owes IRS $80, Gets $122,783.51 Refund Check
Laura Schultz, a Denver house cleaner with Sunshine Maids, owed the IRS $80 but instead received a refund check for $122,783.51. She contacted the IRS and was told to void the check. "The IRS says it cannot comment on what caused the error, but Schultz still has to pay the $80 she owed." CBS News…
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Philadelphia Eagles Pass on $10k Tax Credit for Hiring Ex-Convict Michael Vick
From the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Mayor's Office for the Re-entry of Ex-Offenders (MORE) offers a $10,000 tax credit for employers who hire people who have been released from prison. Michael Vick, the dogfighting-disgraced quarterback signed by the Eagles this month, spent 18 months in federal prison for his crimes against canines. He's due to make…
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Tax Tip: If You’re Gonna Sue the IRS for $1 Billion, Make Sure You’ve Filed Your Tax Returns
From the Mississippi Clarion Ledger: A Pearl man has been convicted in federal court in Jackson for failing to file income taxes for four years. Wiley Randolph “Randy” Kuyrkendall had been accused of not filing income tax returns for 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. … Kuyrkendall, a former insurance salesman in Brandon, received almost $800,000 in…
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No Accounting for the Holidays
I previously blogged The Singing CPA CD by Steven Zelin. Check out these tracks from his latest CD, No Accounting for the Holidays: Deck the Halls (With Calculators) Most Deductible Time of the Year We Wish You a Great Big Refund Joy to the World (The Clients Paid) IRS Jingle Bells Hava Tequilla Dreydl, Dreydl, Dreydl…
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More Celebrity Tax Woes
The Detroit News has two new additions to its list of celebrities with tax woes: Earl Cureton (former basktball player): IRS $217,776 tax lien, Michigan $2,212 tax lien Teri Polo (actress): IRS $341,988 tax lien, California $91,748 tax lien