Paul Hogan appeared rather over-confident in his interviews about his argument with the Australian Tax Office. He laughed it off when they said he had 37.6 million dollars worth of undeclared income which comes with a tax bill that must be paid. And he's just had a big shock - the ATO have slapped a Departure Prohibition Order on him and he can't leave Australia until it's paid or settled. He flew in last Friday for the funeral of his mother Flo.
The size of the bill is not known but has been estimated at around $15 million plus interest charged from the date the tax was due plus other penalties.
Hogan's lawyer, Andrew Robinson slammed the ATO who have never laid charges against Hogan despite a five year court battle. But last month they served him with an amended tax bill for the undeclared income. "He is stunned and very disappointed that the government could treat him as a flight risk" his lawyer said.
Hogan isn't the only celebrity to fall foul of the tax office recently - Glenn Wheatley, John Farnham's manager and close personal friend will never forget it. In 2007 he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to 30 months gaol with a minimum of 15 months to be served.
Everyone was stunned, including Wheatley. Commonwealth Prosecutor Richard Maidment SC said "The fraud that was instigated (by Wheatley) can be described as sustained and sophisticated. Tax fraud is not a victimless crime". He was released from gaol and moved to home detention at his mansion in Melbourne with electronic surveillance for the remainder of his sentence. In a television interview on 'Australian Story' this year, he said that his gaol experience almost destroyed him.
So did the tax office know Hoges was on the way to attend his mother's funeral, were they lying in wait for him, maybe someone dobbed him in, I guess we'll never know. Anyway, good luck Hoges, if your lawyers are good enough, you might just get away with it but I wouldn't hold your breath.
No comments:
Post a Comment