I really cannot understand how one can not pay their taxes, it’s so easy to have it deducted on a regular basis from whatever money source you get your money from.
Just pay them. No one, NO ONE ever gets away with tax evasion.
Actors and reality stars are contract workers and responsible for doing, or getting done, everything themselves.
Having said that, they should have just banked everything and only draw a bit more than what they needed and waited.
He made enough over his tv career that he didn’t need to work again.
Well, almost anyway.
He essentially was self employed, getting money from many different sources. Most people who have always lived on paychecks are clueless about quarterly tax filings and self-employment taxes.
Most likely, he spent everything that he received and the year after he started making a lot of money found out that he was supposed to send quarterly checks to the IRS for his estimated taxes. So he claimed everything he spent as a "business deduction" so he would not owe any taxes.
Personally, I think EVERYONE should have to pay quarterly taxes. When your taxes are deducted up front, you don't really understand how much taxes you are paying. Filing an income tax return is usually just an opportunity to get a refund. Nothing quite like having to send a check to the IRS every 3 months to make you understand how much of your money the government is taking from you.
Automatic deduction may be easy, but I hate the concept. I want everyone who pays taxes to have to write a big fat check on April 15th....so they gain an understanding of how much they’re paying.