Michael Jackson estate embroiled in tax fight with IRS

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-jackson-taxes-20140208,0,3089248.story



The tax return filed by the estate of Michael Jackson was so inaccurate, the IRS said, that it qualified for a gross valuation misstatement penalty, which would allow the government to double the usual 20% penalty for underpayment.

Michael Jackson estate embroiled in tax fight with IRS
By Jeff Gottlieb
February 7, 2014, 7:51 p.m.

The spectacle that was Michael Jackson's life shows no signs of abating with his death.

There was the conviction of the doctor who gave him the fatal overdose of a powerful anesthetic, battles over his will, attempts to remove the executors of his estate and the wrongful death suit against the promoter of his doomed comeback tour.

Now, Jackson's estate is in the midst of a fight with the Internal Revenue Service.

The agency has told Jackson's executors that the estate owes $505 million in taxes and an additional $197 million in penalties, for a total of more than $702 million.