Super Model Learns you Can Runway But Not Hide

Bar Refaeliis wanted for something other than her hot looks. Israeli authorities say she cheated on her taxes to the tune of tens of millions of shekels. She is currently under investigation in her native Israel over allegations that she evaded paying local tax on earnings from her international career. 

Additionally, Israel's tax authority said that Refaeli didn't report "celebrity benefits," such as a free Range Rover and Lexus cars she received from car companies in exchange for published photos of herself with the cars. It also said Refaeli did not pay taxes on a luxury apartment in Tel Aviv, where she lives. 

But wait… there’s more!

Rafaeli's mother, Tzipora Refaeli, is also suspected of tax evasion. Both were briefly detained Thursday and then released. They were questioned in what the authority said has been a months-long investigation. The authority said that both Refaeli and her mother have been barred from traveling abroad for six months without permission from authorities. 

Court papers filed by tax investigators and released to the Israeli media said Refaeli had lived in luxury apartments in Tel Aviv in recent years but that her brother and mother had signed the leases to conceal her residency and evade potential tax bills on millions of dollars in foreign earnings.

Giora Adereth, lawyer for Bar Refaeli's mother, later said, "Every matter will be checked and studied and there is no drama. This a civil matter in every way that will be dealt with between civil lawyers and the tax authorities. Soon everything will be clear. There is no drama and no problem." 

With the holidays now behind us, tax season is warming up. You may not have a million dollar mug like Ms. Refaeli, but you can be just as prone to the drama, problems and STRESS (yes, all caps) that come with poor tax planning. Taxes aren’t pretty, but they don’t have to get U-G-L-Y.