Britney Spears Just The Latest Celebrity To Owe Taxes, List Of Other Celebrities Who Have Owed Taxes

By Charles Poladian | November 29 2012 4:06 PM

Britney Spears may be a major celebrity, but she is also an American citizen, which means she owes taxes. Spears reportedly owes more than $37,000 in taxes, although her reps claim that is an error.

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Britney Spears may be a major celebrity, but she is also an American citizen, which means she owes taxes. Spears reportedly owes more than $37,000 in taxes, although her reps claim that is an error.

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Spears has always been one of the highest-paid female performers, and chances are $37,00 in back taxes will not cause her to lose any sleep. TMZ has obtained court documents issued by the California Franchise Tax Board for unpaid income tax from 2004. According to the documents, Britney Spears and her former husband Kevin Federline were issued a lien of $37,712.71.

According to Forbes, Britney Spears has earned $58 million in 2012, meaning it would just take a little more than two days to pay the owed taxes, but Spears' representative says the lien was filed in error. Spears and Federline have two children together, and this tax issue will not lead to them reuniting, let alone be seen in the same room together.

While the $37,000 lien is being contested by Spears, this back tax will not cause her to resort to more drastic measures to pay it back. Many celebrities have been forced to part with prized possessions in order to pay their debts.

Nicolas Cage was the most recent celebrity hit hard by owed taxes. Just a few weeks ago, Cage paid off a $600,000 tax lien, according to TMZ, but he is still working on paying back $6 million in owed taxes to the Internal Revenue Services. That massive tax debt has forced Cage to sell homes, including an English castle, notes Daily Mail.

O.J. Simpson was saddled with another tax lien, notes TMZ, for $300,000. Lionel Richie was issued a lien of $1.1 million due to owed taxes from 2010, notes USA Today. Rapper Flavor Flav owed more than $900,000 in back taxes, and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne owed $1.1 million in back taxes, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Sinbad, despite many HBO specials and movie appearances, had to declare bankruptcy due to owing $2.5 million in income tax, notes the Chronicle.

During Robert Downey Jr.'s bad boy days, he owed $2 million in taxes, reports USA Today.

Lindsay Lohan, in addition to her recent legal troubles, has also run afoul of the tax man. USA Today reports Lohan owed more than $200,000 in back taxes. But don't worry for LiLo -- she has a guardian angel in Charlie Sheen. The warlock himself gave Lohan $100,000 to help pay off some of her tax debts, reports Fox News.