Lauryn Hill Sent To Prison For Past Taxes

Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill has been sentenced to prison for failing to pay past taxes of about a $1 million. These tax debt owed to the IRS from her earnings as a singer between 2005-2007.

This is another show off by the IRS to send a message to the public by prisoning famous celebrities, the pitfalls of failure to pay taxes. Previous high profile celebrity jailed by IRS, was Wesley Snipes. Demand of past due taxes has compelled many celebrities to file for personal bankruptcy.

Hill pleaded guilty last year to three counts of failing to file tax returns between 2005 and 2007. Her tax debt on the earnings between those years was about $1.8 million. Before the sentencing, her attorney had said Hill had paid more than $970,000 to satisfy the state and federal tax liabilities. But she still owes about $1 million to the Federal and State government. She is not in a financial situation to pay off the tax debt right now. Hill must also pay penalties and taxes still owed, a $60,000 fine, serve a year on probation and possibly three months of home confinement.

During a forceful statement to the judge, Hill explained she had always meant to eventually pay the taxes but was unable to during a period of time when she dropped out of the music business. Hill has six children, five of whom she had with Rohan Marley, the son of Bob Marley. She has largely withdrawn from public life while raising her children. Hill compared her situation to slavery, “.. I’m a child of former slaves. I got into an economic paradigm and had that imposed on me. I sold 50 million units,” she added. “Now I’m up here paying a tax debt. If that’s not likened to slavery, I don’t know what is.”

Recently Hill has mentioned on the internet that she has signed on to release a new record that will help her to pay off the tax debt.