Several Hollywood stars are among those on a long list of people who owe taxes to the state of California.
On January 1, 2012, a new California law went into effect which requires income tax authorities to publish the names and amounts owed by the 500 largest delinquent income-tax cases in the state. The new state law also requires the names of people owing more than $100,000 in taxes be made public.
Many actors and actresses in Hollywood have made this intensive list, which features businessman and Cnet co-founder Halsey M. Minor at number one on the document. According to the published papers, he and his wife owe the state of California $10.5 million.
Other notable published names include actress Pamela Anderson, who owes $524,241 in income taxes. Joe Francis, the Girls Gone Wild founder, owes the government $794,000, and professional boxer James Toney owes $354,000. Music legend Lionel Richie has been warned that his assets and property may be seized if he does not pay the $1.1 million he owes in back taxes. Nick Cassavetes, who is a filmmaker and actor, was also named as owing $274,000.
Altogether, the 500 names listed in California owe a whopping cumulative $233 million.