Robin Givens, actress and ex-wife of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, had a lawsuit filed against her in Tampa, Florida at the end of 2009 by the Federal Government. Representing the IRS, the Feds sued the 44-year-old actress over what is claimed to be $292,000 of unpaid federal taxes, interest and penalties that date back as far as 1996. It is clear that Robin Givens could have used the help of a tax professional like Peter Stephan and the Tax Resolution Institute before her tax crisis became so extreme. Nevertheless, with the proper representation and negotiation, an Offer in Compromise or an Installment Agreement could be worked out before further steps are taken and the financial situation worsens.
The IRS Tax Crisis of Robin Givens
In the May of 2009, the lawsuit was filed in order to record a formal judgment against Robin Givens on 39 separate tax assessments that cover a total of eight of the twelve calendar years from 1996 to 2007. Although her children attend school in Tampa, Givens is known to have residences both in Florida and New York. When asked about the lawsuit, the Los Angeles-based agent of the actress, Darryl Marshak, refused to comment, verifying only that Givens does use the Florida address as her primary residence.
Born in New York, Givens has had an up and down entertainment career that was highlighted by her paparazzi-dominated marriage to the heavyweight champion. Remembered for an extreme television interview with Barbara Walters where she described her marriage to Tyson as “worse than anything I could possibly imagine”, Givens received a huge financial settlement upon separating from the boxer. Since Tyson also has experienced problems in the past with the IRS, the ex-husband and wife now have more in common than ever before.
What remains intriguing about the tax problems of Robin Givens is that the IRS tax bill does not simply cover a single year of tax problems. Unlike Nicolas Cage whose tax problems rose from a single year of avoidance, Robin Givens has a long history of avoiding taxes that stretches back over a decade. Clearly, her business managers and advisors allowed the problem to worsen until it reached the point of public humiliation and a Federal lawsuit. With the guidance and help from an experienced tax professional, Robin Givens could have avoided such exposure.
However, Givens is no stranger to trouble when it comes to paying her taxes. Public records reveal numerous state and federal tax liens against her over the years in New York, Florida and California. Many of the Federal liens may be part of the new lawsuit against her. In some cases, the state tax liens have been released which implies that payments were made.
Will Grace Save Robin Protect from the IRS?
Robin Givens entitled her 2007 memoir, Grace Will Lead Me. If she is going to be led out of her IRS tax crisis, she will need a little more than grace. On the Forbes “star currency” list, Robin Givens currently ranks 1,224 out of 1,400 when it comes to worldwide bankability. As a result, there is the question of whether she can find the work that will provide her with the financial resources she now needs. Rather than fish for such a questionable catch, Robin Givens needs the guidance and help of a tax professional like Peter Stephan to help find a workable solution before the lawsuit leads to IRS levies and the seizure of her assets.