Famous Cases of Tax Evasion

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The act of tax evasion is one of the most underappreciated economic crimes in existence. Tax evasion is when a citizen or business does not pay taxes that are owed to the government. In the US approximately one out of every six dollars owed is not paid.

There are many famous cases of tax evasion inside and outside of the US. Below are three of the most famous cases.

Nicholas Cage

Nicholas Cage the actor and frequent meme have managed to amass a significant amount of money through his acting career dating back since 1981. In the 90s he was the main actor in numerous blockbuster movies such as Face/Off, Con Air and even won an Oscar for best actor in the movie Leaving Las Vegas.

During his career he managed to buy two castles, a dinosaur skull, a small fleet of Rolls Royce’s, a dozen mansions around the world and an island.

In 2009 he was the fifth-highest paid actor in the world. That same year, in July 2009 the IRS filed a $6.2 Million tax lien on Cage, later that year in December they filed another tax lien of another $6.7 Million. He managed to pay off the $6.2 Million in 2012. To this day he is still taking on roles in various movies in order to pay off his debts to the IRS.

Walter Anderson

In 2005, one of the biggest cases of tax evasion in US history was brought to attention. The man behind it is named Walter Anderson. He failed to pay more than $200 Million In personal income tax by stashing money in offshore bank accounts located in British Virgin Islands and Panama.

He earned his fortune by dealing in telecommunications companies. He also dealt with commercial space activities as an investor and supporter.He was also a space investor involved with MirCorp, a commercial space company involved with saving the Mir space station. Anderson put up a total of $20 Million in trying to salvage the space station.

Anderson spent time in prison between 2006 and 2012 for his tax evasion schemes. As of 2014 his debt to the IRS was estimated to approximately $250 Million.

Panama Papers

The Panama Papers is one of the biggest cases of tax evasion in history. The case revealed an international circle of systematic tax evasion.

It was back in 2015 11.5 million documents were leaked. The documents contained financial details of over two hundred thousand offshore entities linked to individuals and companies from around the globe.

The papers were dubbed the Panama Papers because of the country they were leaked from. It was an anonymous “John Doe” who leaked the documents. The case is also known as the “Mossack Fonseca papers” since the entities detailed were managed by this Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider.

Money is still being paid back and will continue to be paid back in many more years to come as more and more evidence is uncovered and inspections carried out of companies and private individuals detailed in the Panama Papers.

The global tally in 2019 of payments recovered from litigations, sums and back taxes exceed $1 Billion. The top five countries that have recovered most money:

1. Great Britain – $253 Million
2. Denmark – $237 Million
3. Germany – $183 Million
4. Spain – $164 Million
5. France – $136 Million

The law firm Mossack Fonseca shut down in 2018. The company was founded in 1977 and the Panama Papers indicate that over $2 Trillion passed through the firm’s hands.