So that's why the Jackson family is going after AEG Live for billions of dollars, they've got the taxman on their backs.
The Internal Revenue Service has accused the Jackson estate of undervaluing some of the late King of Pop's assets by hundreds of millions of dollars, and claims they're owed $702 million in federal taxes and penalties, according to Reuters. The IRS is claiming that the estate failed to disclose the true value of some of their assets in a court challenge in July in a response to a bill. Essentially, the IRS is saying that Jackson's estate that it's worth a lot less than it actually is, and they want them to cough up the dough.
According to Reuters 'The estate's 2009 tax filing said the total Jackson estate had a $7 million taxable value. In May, the IRS issued the estate a tax deficiency notice for $505.1 million in taxes and $196.9 million in penalties, according to Tax Court documents dated today'. The main beneficiaries of Jackson's estate are his mother Katherine and his three children, Paris, Prince and Blanket.
Other issues for the IRS are the taxable values of Jackson's likeness and image, which the estate claimed was only $2,105 and the IRS say is actually $434 million, as well as his recording assets which they say are worth $469 million that the Jackson family didn't even include.
The Jackson estate told Reuters that that they were disputing the claims saying they are 'based on speculative and erroneous assumptions unsupported by the facts or law' and that they have already paid $100 million in taxes to the IRS.