August 31, 2010 12:49 pm

‘Crocodile Dundee’ is now a prisoner of the Australian Taxation Office

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Paul Hogan, better known to most as Crocodile Dundee and Australia’s second greatest import next to Yvonne Strahovski, has been detained in his home country for a tax bill on $34 million in unclaimed income. Somewhere Paul is calling Wesley Snipes and saying “That’s not tax evasion — THIS is tax evasion.”

Australian tax and crime investigators have fought Hogan in a five-year legal wrangle in Australian and U.S. courts to investigate evidence 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.

Crocodile Dundee was supposedly hiding profits from his movies in off-shore bank accounts. G’day for him, but not so much for the government of Australia. Guessing that the bill on those $34 million is probably quite a hefty sum. According to the Australian Tax Office, every dollar over $180,000 is taxed 45 cents, meaning Hogan (depending on the tax rates for the years he supposedly hid money) probably owes somewhere between $12-$16 million in back taxes — that is of course if he is found guilty of not reporting all the income from his awesome films. Unfortunately, the star claims he can’t even afford to pay 10% of that number.

“I know they’re absolutely desperate to nail some high-profile character with money to justify the expense to the taxpayer,” he said of the tax office.

And until he can pay the bill, the actor can’t leave the country. The Australians are taking it back to the 18th century with this ruling, as Hogan is now a prisoner of his native country. There’s already been a Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles film, but the actor actually resides there in real life, meaning there may never again be a Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles and personally, I sleep better at night knowing he lives there and keeps the streets safe. So “Free Dundee” before the alligators take over Los Angeles!

‘Crocodile Dundee’ says he can’t afford back taxes [AP]