Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Racing Star Uses Foreign Shell Corporations to Hide Taxable Income


Sports Illustrated recently reported on Indy Racing star Helio Castroneves's tax evasion case. The IRS and the U.S. Department of Treasury claim that Castroneves set up foreign shell corporations ran by his family to specifically hide taxable income.

The Government claims that Castroneves hid about $480,000 in taxable income in a Panamanian corporation called Seven Promotions and roughly $5 million in a shell Dutch corporation with the intent to eventually move from the United States to tax-haven countries like Andorra or Monaco with the money.

While Castroneves's celebrity reputation would normally help him in front of a jury, we need not look too far in the past to see that celebrities are not necessarily immune from serious penalties for tax violations - as evidenced by the recent three year prison sentence handed down to Wesley Snipes for failing to file tax returns.

0 comments :