14 DAY TRIAL // Although he’s making an estimated $14 million for each movie he puts out no matter how it fares at the box-office, Nicolas Cage is rather sloppy when it comes to paying his taxes. The actor is currently investigated for owing the IRS over $6.2 million in unpaid back taxes, and may even face jail time if he’s prosecuted and found guilty, the Houston Chronicle reports.
According to a lien filed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Louisiana, the actor has not paid his taxes since 2007 and those, plus penalties, amount to over $6.2 million. Cage is now said to be desperately trying to sell one of his biggest properties in a bid to raise some money for the IRS, but word in the media has it that legal action against him will still be pursued.
“Nicolas Cage has been hit with a massive $6.2 million demand from U.S. tax officials, according to news reports. The star is accused of failing to keep up with his taxes in 2007, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials have taken their case to a court in Louisiana, where Cage has a home he’s trying to sell, in a bid to try to recoup the cash. The Detroit News reports IRS officials filed tax lien documents against Cage in Orleans District Court on 14 July (09), alleging he failed to pay $6,257,005 to cover his income tax in 2007.” the Houston Chronicle says.
As of now, Cage’s representative has not made any comment yet on his client’s financial situation. However, even if the report is accurate and the actor is truly in trouble with the IRS, he wouldn’t be the first major star to experience money problems. Even Hugh Hefner, the founder and fervent promoter of the Playboy empire, which has come, in time, to symbolize the epitome of glamor modeling, was forced to put his personal mansion, adjacent to the Mansion, out on the market.
Listed at over $29 million, the mansion finally found its rightful owner yesterday, who acquired it for $18 million, considerably less than the asking price. Nevertheless, it is being said that Hefner was so desperate to get rid of it that he would have probably sold it for less, as he was being encouraged by his financial advisors to cut unnecessary expenses to make ends meet and keep business going.