R. Kelly Tax Bill Increases, Singer Now Owes More Than $6 Million
The tax bill just keeps getting bigger for Robert Sylvester Kelly, better known as R. Kelly, who has been in the news in that past few months after reports surfaced that he owned several million in back taxes. The current amount R. Kelly currently owes has increased to more than $6 million.
The singer-songwriter had previously been on the wrong side of both federal and state tax officials. It was reported that government documents revealed R. Kelly did not complete tax returns from 2005 through 2010 and last year owed $4,848,072.71 in back taxes.
Reports are now stating that the state of Illinois filed a brand new claim against the singer, stating that R. Kelly now owes the Illinois' revenue department for the 2011 tax year in the amount of $1,379,695.11.
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The IRS can impose severe penalties on those who do not pay their taxes. Penalties can range in severity from fines and increased interest rates to tax liens and even jail time. Yet, R. Kelly has shown that he is not worried about his tax situation.
"R. Kelly is in the process of working everything out with the government and is confident that all his obligations will be satisfied," his spokesperson told TMZ.
The singer "takes this very seriously and is already communicating with the IRS about the payment process to quickly resolve the issue," the representative added.
Widely regarded as one of the best R&B artists of all time, in the past decade he has seen his reputation be tarnished.
He won Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist from the American Music Awards in 2005 and 2007, but R. Kelly's career took a turn for the worse when he was involved in a widely publicized legal battle from 2002-2005 after a tape that was leaked surfaced, capturing the singer in compromising acts with a girl who was underage at the time.
