Tax Problems for Rapper Doug E. Fresh

Rapper/record producer/beat-boxer Doug E. Fresh appears to be in trouble with the IRS.  Fresh owes more than $2.2 million in back taxes, and the IRS has filed a lien against him in New York.  It's not the first time Fresh has had problems with the IRS; the IRS came after him in 2008 for $367,000 in back taxes.

Read more here and here.

Snipes Reports to Prison

Wesley Snipes reported to a federal prison in Pennsylvania today to begin serving his 3-year prison sentence on tax-evasion charges.  Snipes was convicted in 2008 of failing to file tax returns and pay income tax on more than $37 million of income between 1999-2004.  He lost an appeal in July and another appeal in November.  Click here to read more about Snipes reporting to prison. 

Prior Dinesen Tax Times coverage can be found here, here and here.

Wall Street Journal Reports - "'Audits from Hell' Target Rich"

The Wall Street Journal had an article recently said said the IRS is targeting wealthy taxpayers and their financial arrangements for audit.  The audits are being conducted by a new IRS unit called the Global High Wealth Industry Group.  People who have gone through one of these audits say the audits seem unusually harsh.

According to the article:

"The IRS group is focusing on many kinds of financial instruments and asset classes, from derivatives to real estate—such as, say, a stake in a winery in Europe—as well as trusts, royalty and licensing agreements, revenue-based or equity-sharing arrangements, private foundations, privately held companies and partnerships."

You can read the complete Wall Street Journal article here.