The Tax Trouble of Wesley Snipes

Tax trouble. Even celebrities get it.

For all their millions in making music, TV shows, and movies, many celebrities still get the hissy fit from the IRS. It’s easy to say that they want to keep it all for themselves, but that’s not always the case. Here’s a look at one of showbiz’s most famous personalities—and most famous tax troubles: The case of Wesley Snipes.

The 52-year-old actor and film producer faced a total of 16 years in jail for multiple counts of tax conspiracy, evasion, and fraud. Thanks to a staunch defense by his tax attorney, he only spent less than three years at McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Lewis Run, PA. He was only convicted of not filing his returns between 1999 and 2004.

On top of that, it’s not like celebrities could file and pay their taxes while on set, especially abroad. Around 2008, Snipes traveled to London to finish Gallowwalker, released four years later, and Chasing the Dragon, released a year later. Even if he could mail his documents to the IRS, completing the documents prior to sending is a different matter.

Snipes had left his financial matters to his expert staff, but their load of, apparently, bad advice had turned against him instead of helping him. It’s an untoward occurrence that can be easily explained with the help of a tax lawyer. Now that Snipes is back making movies, he’ll take this experience as a lesson in trust.