Leave it to Hollywood to blame their failure to file their taxes on everything from devious financial advisors (like Nicolas Cage did) to denying US citizenship (kudos to an extra-clever Wesley Snipes).
In honor of Tax Day, meet the top celebs in the crosshairs of the IRS:
Lauryn Hill
The Grammy winner served three months in federal prison in 2013 after the sultry Fugees songstress failed to pay taxes for five straight years, totaling $2.3 million.
Nicolas Cage
With all that “National Treasure”-hunting, it’s understandable how the actor owed a reported $14 million — later lessened to $6 million — in back taxes. He and his financial manager both played the blame game on each other — but the only ones who really lose here are the fans who are forced to endure more “Kick Ass” movies so Cage can pay off his debts.
Sophia Loren
After Italian tax authorities nabbed the ’60s and ’70s seductress in 1982 before she boarded a flight to Paris, the Rome native served 17 days of a 30-day sentence for tax evasion, specifically for a $7,000 discrepancy on her 1974 tax return. She was cleared in 2013 — a whopping 39 years later.
Martha Stewart
Compared to insider trading, cheating the IRS looks like a mere speeding ticket for America’s favorite domestic doyenne. The lifestyle maven notched a $220,000 debt in 1994, thanks to unpaid taxes on her East Hampton pad.
Wesley Snipes
When the “Blade” star was busted for tax evasion back in 2006, there was a collective gasp — followed by an immediate snicker — after he claimed he didn’t consider himself a US citizen. He had missed six years of tax returns, was eventually sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a reported $17 million in back taxes, plus penalties and interest. But that hasn’t stopped him from returning to a fruitful film career — and many “Expendables” sequels in the future.