IRS Tax Controversy: The IRS is Coming After MC Hammer

One thing you can say about the IRS – the agency doesn’t play favorites when it comes to collecting revenue from taxpayers. Whether you’re a celebrity, a business owner, or a student… the IRS will do whatever it can to extract every last penny from your wallet.

We received another reminder of this reality recently, when the IRS placed a lien on singer / celebrity MC Hammer. Forbes.com reports:

Stanley Kirk Burrell, known to his fans as MC Hammer, is facing a new challenge. According to TMZ, Hammer owes the Internal Revenue Service nearly $800,000 in back taxes. And now, it’s time to pay up: the IRS has slapped Hammer and his wife, Stephanie, with a $798,033.48 lien for failure to pay taxes dating back to 1996 and 1997.

[Burrell] struggled as a young rapper until the late 1980s when he was finally picked up by Capitol Records. His first album with the company sold over 2 million copies. His second album spawned the wildly popular single, “U Can’t Touch This” which he performed on the Arsenio Hall Show in 1989. He went on to release a number of other popular songs, including “Pray” and “2 Legit 2 Quit.”

The IRS generally has three years after the due date of the return, or 3 years after the date the return was actually filed, whichever is later, to assess a deficiency. The statute can be extended in cases of fraud or failure to file a return. After the assessment, the IRS has ten years to collect. It’s not unusual for the IRS to file a lien against an assessed taxpayer in order to protect what they believe to be their interest.

While it may take years for this dispute to be resolved, you can count on the IRS to come after Mr. Burrell’s assets relentlessly. We’ve seen firsthand the impact that IRS collection efforts can have on taxpayers and business owners. It’s an unpleasant, stressful, and costly process. The good news, if you find yourself facing an IRS dispute, is that a qualified attorney can handle the dispute on your behalf. If you’re stuck in an IRS controversy and not sure where to turn, we want to help. Please give us a call today to learn more!