'Crocodile Dundee' Star Paul Hogan Can't Leave Australia
Actor Paul Hogan, star of the 'Crocodile Dundee' movie trilogy, has been barred from leaving Australia until he pays a disputed tax bill, his lawyer said on Thursday.
The 70-year-old actor, who currently lives in Los Angeles and first gained a public profile in the United States with his cheerful offer to "slip an extra shrimp on the barbie" in Australian tourism TV ads in the mid 1980s, arrived in Sydney last week to attend the funeral of his mother, Florence Hogan.
Hogan was served with an Australian Taxation Office order after landing last Friday that prevents him from leaving Australia until he settles a multimillion dollar tax bill, lawyer Andrew Robinson said.
"These may not be the appropriate circumstances to effectively make Paul a prisoner of Australia," Robinson told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
The order was "absolutely devastating" for Hogan's wife, 'Crocodile Dundee' co-star Linda Kozlowski, and their 12-year-old son Chance, both of whom remained in Los Angeles, Robinson said.
Australian tax and crime investigators have fought Hogan in a five-year legal wrangle in Australian and U.S. courts to investigate evidence that he used offshore bank accounts to conceal earnings since his low-budget 'Crocodile Dundee' movie became an international hit in 1986.
Tax authorities last month claimed Hogan owed tax on 38 million Australian dollars ($34 million) in allegedly undisclosed income. The exact tax bill has not been disclosed.
Hogan has denied any wrongdoing and disputes the tax bill. He has never been charged with tax evasion.
The Australian Tax Office refuses to comment due to a policy of not discussing individual cases.
Robinson said lawyers are negotiating with tax authorities to have the order revoked.
"Those discussions are ongoing. We are hoping that they will result in an arrangement that will allow him to go back to his wife and son," Robinson said, without elaborating.
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You seem so interested, why don't you go yourself?
I pay my taxes, never had to negociate, you made the millions pay what you owe deadbeat.
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Greedy government pricks
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Damn another Democrate who doesn't pay taxes lol
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Do you own marvin windows?
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Fab couple! More hollywood could learn from Paul and Linda. Media and people should stay out of their lives!
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Crikey! Pay yer bleedin taxes, mate!
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I always feel sorry for rich people when they get caught not paying taxes.
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Paul Hogan brought more tourism to Australia than the government wankers can count long before his movies. Australians love a fight, but this time, they've given themselves a black eye. My vacation plans have changed & I won't be back 'til Hogan's at home with wife & family.
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Offshore accounts are where most of the world's money is hidden. Instead of making an example of Mr Hogan, tax officials should be going after the big corporations, and the banks who handle "their" -- OUR money.
If that could be achieved, NONE of us would have to pay taxes.
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What else would you expect from the government that killed Bill Ansell, the man who inspired the character of "Crocodile Dundee"? The fascist gungrabbing fairies shot that good man to death, after Australia banned firearm ownership. The result has been an explosion of violent crime down under. That's real good for tourism boyos. Now, the face of Australian tourism, Paul Hogan, is locked up after bringing untolled tourism dollars to the ouback. Good thinking, that. What's next - sharia "law"?
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You know,he could just get in a boat and sail away.....pretty sure the government is standing over him all day everyday.
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What a wanker! But I'd wager he still looks good in a budgie smuggler.
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Pay your bills, mate! You've made a lot more money than most of us and we pay what we owe. No sympathy from me.
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If anyone makes a lot of money, everyone wants a slice of the pie, EVEN THE GOVERNMENT. The Austrailian government is no different than the USA government, only in the USA, we have a president who wants Socialism...he wants to re-distribute the wealth. All the idiot has to do is look at other countries and he would know that Socialism does not work.
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You know what kills me? These super rich celebrities, politicians, etc. who are rolling in dough, refuses to pay their taxes whether in the USA or other countries. I struggle to pay mine, at great sacrifice, but somehow they get paid. If I didn't, just what would you think would happen to me?
Glad that Australia has the guts to do something about their deadbeats!
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Pay your taxes Crocodile Man.
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Pay your taxes Crocodile Man.
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Just like some money grubbers wanting him to pay Aussie taxes when he lives in USA Is ha double paying? Im sure the US's IRS got their money from him.
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Say what you want about "Dundee", but he has one gorgeous wife, Linda Kozlowski. Man, I would wrestle crocidiles to have her.
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