Wesley Snipes given three years for tax evasion
Posted on 08/31/2010 1:28:07 PM PDT by nickcarraway
PAUL Hogan has come out fighting against the tax man, declaring he will risk bankruptcy before he pays.
Against his lawyer's advice, Hogan spoke for the first time last night - proving he hasn't lost his sense of humour despite being made a virtual prisoner in Australia.
The Aussie larrikin said he didn't owe the Australian Tax Office anything and couldn't afford to pay their bill anyway.
Who do you believe - Hoges or the tax office? Let us know in the comments below.
"I can't pay it, I can't pay 10 per cent of what they are asking for," Hogan said.
"But they don't want 10 per cent. I can't even pay 2 per cent - bugger them.
"I'm not as rich as people think I am."
Describing Tax Office officials as having "no class" and barely human, Hogan said he would not give in to their pressure.
"A normal person would be devastated. But I'm not normal, so I'm not devastated," Hogan said on A Current Affair. "I just want two hands to fight."
Hogan said he couldn't disclose the amount he is accused of owing because of tax secrecy laws, but reports estimated it at $95 million.
The Crocodile Dundee star said he was putting up a fight because he knew he was innocent. He never had offshore accounts in tax havens or purposely changed between paying tax in Australia and America to make a profit.
"I don't want people to say let him go because of what he did or because he made me laugh back in the day," he said. "I want people to say let him go because he didn't do anything.
"I'm not Paris Hilton, I'm Hoges. I don't want sympathy and special treatment. Give me the benefit of the doubt. Give me the chance to say this is a witch-hunt, and it's wrong."
The fact he came home willingly and under his own volition also proved he had nothing to hide. "If I was a tax evader, which I am not, I must be the dumbest in the world as I keep coming back here," he said.
"Instead of whipping off to Brazil and renting Ronnie Biggs' house and lying there going ha-ha come and get me, I kept coming back here.
"And I also spent millions fighting them."
Hogan, 70, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife Linda Kozlowski and their son Chance, says it's ridiculous authorities fear he might flee.
"I'm a flight risk? I'm sorry but that's just absurd!" he said. "That is a cretin that's made that move."
Hogan remains grounded in Australia after he was hit with a Departure Prohibition Order two weeks ago banning him from leaving until he pays or reaches a settlement on the estimated bill of about $95 million, including interest and penalties.
He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged.
Paul, don’t you know that taxes are for little people?
Rodney Ansell (real Crocodile Dundee) was killed by authorities.
Maybe Hogan will team up with Wesley Snipes in Blade 4: Blade Down Under.
It has been a long time between paydays for Croc. Surprised we havent seen him on some celebrity reality tv program.
Dear Paul:
Haven’t you heard? You don’t tug on Superman’s cape; you don’t spit into the wind; you don’t pull the mask off The Lone Ranger; and you don’t talk back to the tax office! (With apologies to the late Jim Croce).
So he’s no Jack Bauer?
Based on what we know so far, it boils down to "Who do you believe -- Hogan or the Australian Tax Office?"
Personally, I wouldn't give the Australian Tax Office any more credibility than the IRS -- who is a helluva lot more likely to make a mistake than your accountant.
I'll go with Hogan.
“Thats not a knife, THATS a knife.”
How does someone rack up 95 million in taxes? Did he take out loans or something? Even at his peak in the 80’s he didn’t make THAT much money.
Go Paul, screw the government! They just waste the money anyway. I do whatever I can to avoid giving money to the stupid, tyrannical government.
You start out small and the penalties and interest do the rest, including interest on the penalties and interest...
He was killed by police he opened fire on from ambush, killing one of them.
An environmental group stopped the sell of Buffalo meat being sold on the market after they claimed Brucellosis and Tuberculosis was killing the wild Buffalo.
Ansell complained that the government came in and killed the animals to let them rot while his business of hunting them was eliminated with no compensation.
How much taxes from tourist dollars did Australia get solely based on the success of Crocodile Dundee?
I’d say they owe him.
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