Celebrity Tax Problems - Martin Scorsese Gets Whacked with a Tax Lien

See the title of this post? See how we called IRS representatives "Goodfellas". You know, because Martin Scorsese directed the film "Goodfellas". See how funny we are. Very humous group here at Wolf Tax. Attorneys by day, comedians at night. 

So, anyway, Martin Scorsese, best known for films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, the Departed, and yes, Goodfellas, was hit with a huge IRS tax lien for $2.85 million in 2011. But this wasn't Marty's first run around with the IRS. It was reported that in 2002 and 2003, the IRS filed tax liens against his property for $1.9 million. None of this was Marty's fault though you see because....wait for it...SURPRISE! It's the old "blame the financial advisor" excuse again! 

This time the excuse may have some merit though. Scorsese had a decades long relationship with convicted felon and former prominent financial advisor Kenneth Starr (meanwhile, how many Kenneth Starr's could there be in this world? Anyone, remember the Clinton investigation?) who was sentenced to 7.5 years in federal prison for running a $33 million Ponzi scheme. Al Pacino actually claimed Starr screwed him too when he received notice of his own IRS lien for almost $200,000. So basically if you have a tax issue, you are just like Martin Scorsese and Al Pacino! 

Scorsese's spokeswoman addressed the issue, stating, "The IRS prematurely filed this lien even though Mr. Scorsese had an agreement with the IRS to make payments and was fully complying." Although she then quickly added that Scorsese has no IRS debt because he paid the entire tax debt back already, which seems odd because she just said he was in a a payment plan. 

Who to believe? Incompetent IRS or overzealous Scorsese spokeswoman? Tough call. Let's leave that debate for another day. The bottom line is, no matter who is telling the truth, when the IRS comes after you, don't make the mistake of ignoring them. Even Marty appears to have resolved his tax issues through an Installment Agreement payment plan. You can resolve your tax issues too, by hiring an experienced tax attorney, preferably, if we're to be honest, one from Wolf Tax.