Source: WENN

Last week we told you that 90′s songbird Lauryn Hill filed papers with the New Jersey courts in relation to her impending tax evasion case where it was revealed that she owed $1.8 million in back taxes. The documents requested that the courts take into consideration that ”when she withdrew from society at large due to what she perceived as manipulation and very real threats to herself and her family,” she also stopped paying taxes. Today the singer was supposed to receive sentencing for the three counts of tax evasion being brought against her, but we’ve just learned that U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo has postponed sentencing in the case until May 6th.

NewJersey.com is reporting that Judge Arleo has granted Hill two weeks to pay $504,000 in back taxes. If she is unable to pay the specified amount by May 6th, she could face up to 30 months in prison.

It looks like Lauryn’s request for the judge presiding over her case to have a little mercy on her has been granted (sort of). Hopefully she is able to pay off the court ordered amount by the 6th and avoid having to serve any prison time. According to the Miami Herald, Hill has only paid off $50,000 of the owed money to date, although she had previously promised to pay $554,000 by her sentencing date.

“I fully expect that by May 3 Ms. Hill will be able to pay back all the restitution she has,” said Lauryn’s attorney Nathan Hochman.

We wish her the best!

Source: WENN

What is it with celebrities and tax drama? It seems like Hip Hop icon Nas is just another notch in Uncle Sam’s belt of celebrities who are being forced to pay their taxes because they fail to do so voluntarily. According to TMZ, the State of Georgia has recently filed a $1, 083,435 tax lien against the rapper for failing to pay taxes he owed to the state from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

How do they plan on getting their money you ask? Well, you know that big Live Nation concert tour that Mr. Jones has been on? Apparently The Georgia State Department of revenue was granted an order which gives them the power to command Live Nation to garnish his wages “until the department is satisfied”.

Considering the price point for a ticket to one of these shows, $1 million dollars is probably chump change. A representative for the Queens rapper assured TMZ that the matter has been taken care of and that Nas has settled with the Georgia Department of Revenue; however, the GDR is claiming that the case is indeed still open and that they are still going after him.

This isn’t the first news of Nas and his tax drama with the state of Georgia. If you recall, a few weeks ago news broke that he lost his  two-bedroom, three-bath Georgia home to foreclosure, which he purchased for $585,000 back in 2004, however he couldn’t maintain the payments and still owed SunTrust Bank $507,000. After foreclosing the property, the bank sold the house in a public auction for $348,500.

While his tax problems in Georgia seem like they may be getting resolved soon if they haven’t already been resolved, it is being reported that the rapper also owes the Federal Government millions of dollars in unpaid taxes as well.

The rapper’s most recent album,”Life Is Good” was number one on the Billboard Charts; however, it is hard to tell if this was enough to pull him out of the financial turmoil he’s gotten himself in. Hopefully his financial matters get resolved soon.

Jazmine Denise is a writer living in New York. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

Source: Freddyo.com

Common sense tells you you can’t just not pay your taxes and observation should tell you if you’re a celebrity, no matter how long you think Uncle Sam doesn’t know you owe him, he will eventually catch up to your black tale and make you pay.

R. Kelly is the latest IRS casualty and his tax demise has been seven years in the making, which is why he now owes the feds $4.8 million. Here’s the breakdown by year.

2005 – $1,472,366.77
2006 – $710,520.51
2007 – $376,180.11
2008 – $1,122,694.90
2009 – $173,815.18
2010 – $992,495.24

Now if you think back several months, R. Kelly was out here trying to get funding just to release another 800 chapters of “Trapped in the Closet,” which interestingly came out in 2005 when his tax issues started, so we know this man doesn’t have the money.

A rep for Kells told TMZ, “R. Kelly is in the process of working everything out with the government and is confident that all his obligations will be satisfied.”

I hate to say it, but he might want to get a reality show like everyone else, including his ex-wife, just to settle this debt. Or, he should actually focus on coming out with a new album instead of reviving “Trapped in the Closet” seven years later. He could also try the Lauryn Hill approach, but as thoughtful as her tax evasion explanation was, I’m pretty sure the government is not hearing it. Poor Sylvester.

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patch.buckhead.com

After 14 years in the restaurant business, Diddy is moving on to other endeavors. The mogul has closed his once wildly successful Buckhead restaurant “Justin’s” that specialized in Southern and Caribbean food.

The AJC reports:

“There was speculation that Justin’s was shut down for renovations and would reopen. Not. Once known for “Martini Mondays” and celebrity-filled weekend nights, Justin’s fell off in recent years and was unable to relocate its early magic.

Combs’ first Justin’s restaurant, in New York, closed after 10 years in 2007.

Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group (BBWEG), founded by Combs, said in a statement that Justin’s was closed in order to pursue “other business ventures in music, television, fashion, fragrance and spirits.” It added that is is “actively exploring business opportunities in Atlanta” and promises “to have a strong presence in the region.”

Diddy isn’t the only entertainer to have his restaurant close in recent years. Usher, Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri’s restaurants have all reached the same fate.

In fact, Gladys Knight’s and Ron Winan’s chicken and waffle joints make them the only entertainers left thriving in Atlanta’s restaurant industry.

This isn’t the first time this restaurant has made headlines. In 2009, the restaurant reportedly owed the IRS $8,000 dollars in back taxes. And last summer, Tony Austin (former A&R man for Def Jam and President of Russell Simmons Music Group) sued Diddy for “failing to maintain a safe environment” after Austin was shot multiple times in the restaurant’s parking lot in 2010. Sheesh!

No one likes to see a black-owned business fail, but we’re pretty sure Diddy isn’t hurting for money. Last year, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $500 million dollars, making him the richest figure in hip hop.

Have you ever visited Justin’s in Atlanta? Why do you think these entertainer-owned restaurants don’t survive in that city? 

Alissa Henry is a freelance writer living in Columbus, OH follow her on Twitter @AlissaInPink 

Damon Dash can’t seem to beat the IRS. Maybe he should take a lesson from fellow industry-mate turned prisoner, Ja Rule, and strive to settle his debts before he ends up in jail.

According to Detroit News, Dash, who has been in trouble with the IRS since at least 2008 , has skipped out on another tax bill and the IRS has now filed a $2,984,364 lien against him on June 30 with the New York City Register’s Office.

Dash’s problems became public in 2008 when he faced foreclosure on two downtown condos in New York and had his luxury SUV repossessed due to unpaid legal fees. He couldn’t keep up with his $78,500 monthly mortgage payment on his two residences that he bought for $7.3 million according to Forbes and by 2010, one of his Tribeca condos was sold in a foreclosure sale for $5.5 million.

The 40-year-old former Roc-a-Fella manager is going it alone, as Rachel Roy filed for divorce from Dash in 2009. She seems to be doing well for herself with her Rachel Roy fashion line. Maybe she can spare some cash to her former flame and settle his debts once and for all.