R. Kelly and 4.8 Million Back Taxes Owed, 'Confident' He'll Be Fine
The consequences for not paying back taxes can be severe, and it's something R. Kelly may have to find out about the hard way if he is unable to work out a deal with the IRS.
Robert Sylvester Kelly, better known as the R&B artist R. Kelly, owes the IRS nearly $5 million in back taxes. The singer apparently stopped paying taxes in 2005, according to TMZ, and has racked up quite the debt.
Why R. Kelly wasn't paying taxes is unknown. Considered one of the best R&B artists of all time, it seems unlikely that the artist was unable to afford the bill. He won Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist from the American Music Awards in 2005 and 2007. Kelly's career did suffer slightly however in from 2002-2005 after court proceedings began following a leaked tape of the artist intimately engaged with an underage girl.
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Broken down, the singer owes $1,472,366.77 from 2005, $710,520.51 from 2006, $376,180.11 from 2007, $1,122,694.90 from 2008, $173,815.18 from 2009 and $992,495.24 from 2010, bringing his grand total to $4,848,072.71, according to Daily Mail.
The IRS can impose severe penalties on those who do not pay their taxes. Some penalties include fines, interest rates, and even jail time. R. Kelly, however, has expressed that he is not worrying about thepenalties.
"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.
Meanwhile users on the internet showed no remorse for the singer.
"What a moron. How on earth Do celebs think they can get away with tax evasion? My God; $4,800,000! How would you like to see that bill from the government?!" Missy wrote on the Daily Mail blog.
"What's up with these celebs not paying taxes??!!!" Dawn added.
