Singer Aaron Carter filed a bankruptcy petition to shed more than $2 million in debt, mostly taxes owed from his days as a teen sensation, his publicist told CNN on Thursday, November 21.
Singer Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison in May. She told a judge she intended to pay taxes, but it was just a question of when.
Judy Garland's tax debt forced her to do something she vowed she would never do: host a television show. To pay the IRS for delinquent taxes dating back a decade, the singer/actress signed a $24 million deal with CBS for "The Judy Garland Show" in 1962.
Willie Nelson cleared his $32 million tax debt by selling assets and an album titled "The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?" Nelson discovered in 1990 that his accountants had not fully paid his taxes -- a find made tougher by investment losses in the 1980s.
In 1990, baseball legend Pete Rose spent five months in prison for tax evasion convictions stemming from money made selling autographs and memorabilia. The tax man returned to his door in 2004 with a $1 million lien for back taxes.
Lil' Kim blamed her accountant when her tax troubles arose in 2005. Seven years later, the rapper still had to pay more than $1 million to the government.
While O.J. Simpson has known bigger legal problems, delinquent taxes are on the list. The former football star, who's serving a long prison sentence in Nevada, owed the IRS and the state of California hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to court documents.
Comedian Sinbad racked up a large unpaid tax bill, owing $8 million to the IRS for income from 1998 to 2006, according to an IRS court filing in 2012. California officials also reported that he owed the state $2 million. After filing for bankruptcy and selling his home, Sinbad used the tax troubles as material for a reality show.
Actor Nicolas Cage revealed in 2010 that he owed $14 million in back taxes, which he has been working to pay off since. A federal tax lien filed last year said he owed $6.2 million from income in 2007.
Wesley Snipes walked out of a federal prison in April after serving a tax evasion sentence that began in December 2010. The actor claimed that he was not legally obligated to pay federal taxes, an argument a jury did not buy.
Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, Sharon, were hit with a federal tax lien in April 2011 on one of their Los Angeles homes. The couple owed $1.7 million in back taxes from 2008 and 2009. Sharon Osbourne initially blamed an accountant but later took personal responsibility.
Rapper Jeffrey Atkins, also known as Ja Rule, was sentenced to 28 months in prison in July 2011 for failing to file tax returns with the IRS. Atkins admitted that he did not file his taxes for five years.
Actress Pamela Anderson was hit by a big back-tax bill in December 2012, totaling about $370,000.
Dionne Warwick filed for bankruptcy in March, citing more than $10 million in tax debt dating to 1991. Her publicist blamed "negligent and gross financial mismanagement."
In 1997, "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss was sentenced to 30 months in a federal prison for convictions on conspiracy, tax evasion and money laundering relating to a high-priced prostitution ring. She served 20 months.
- "The bulk of the debt is from over 10 years ago when he was a minor," publicist says
- Carter owes the IRS more than $1.3 million from when he was 16
- The singer makes just $2,000 a month touring, court document says
- He has $60 in his wallet and $917 in a checking account, filing says
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Singer Aaron Carter filed a bankruptcy petition to shed more than $2 million in debt, mostly taxes owed from when he was making tons of money as a teen sensation.
"This is not a negative thing," Carter publicist Steve Honig told CNN. "It's actually very positive. It's him doing what he needs to do to move forward."
The U.S. government is Carter's biggest creditor, according to the petition. He owes the Internal Revenue Service $1.3 million in back taxes from his income in 2003, when Carter was just 16.
"The bulk of the debt is from over 10 years ago when he was a minor and not in control of his finances," Honig said. "This has happened to a lot of people who had fame at such at a very early age."
Carter is left with very little to show for his early success, according to his bankruptcy petition. He had just $60 cash in his wallet and $917 in his checking account when he signed the petition last month. His bank savings account held just $5.
His personal property includes a 61-inch flat screen TV and his cell phone, all valued at just $500. He does wear a $3,750 Breitling watch. Clothing, two laptops, a guitar and a Louis Vuitton backpack put his fortune at just $8,200.
Carter owns the publishing rights to the songs he wrote -- "Saturday Night" and "One Better" -- but he doesn't currently get any royalties from them, the filing said.
Still, Carter is going "in the right direction" and "really working his ass off," Honig said.
He acted in more than 400 performances in the off-Broadway cast of "The Fantasticks" last year.
He's currently on a 75-city tour of the United States, but the petition said he's only earning about $2,000 a month for those performances. That money ends when the tour ends in December.
Carter's expenses are just $2,000 a month since he's living with a relative in Port Richey, Florida, when he's not on the road, it said.
He dealt with substance-abuse issues, but Carter's been "completely clean of quite some time," Honig said. He spent time in drug rehab two years ago.
Carter's "really gotten his act together and is really doing well," his publicist said.
