Prince Owes Uncle Sam and Concert Promotors Big Time!

Prince Owes Uncle Sam

Flamboyant musician Prince is certainly knee deep in financial woes these days. First, the 51-year-old R&B musician is on Uncle Sam's hit list of delinquent taxpayers in Minnesota. Then, a Dublin court awarded concert promoters a truckload from the purple one because he canceled a show at the last minute.

Prince, whose real name is Prince Rogers Nelson, has been a Minnesota resident for most of his life. He is listed on the Carver County tax records as owing the state in back taxes, interest and fines, which amount to more than $500,000 for the 2009 tax year for his record company PRN Music Corp., home to famed Paisley Park Studios.

Taxpayer services manager Laurie Engelen stated that a notification letter was sent out to Prince on February 15th about the delinquencies, and to date, the agency has received no response.

Engelsen also mentioned that the controversial artist has been down this "tax bill-avoiding" road before in the not-too-distant past. On the studios, the bill was paid late in 2006 and then again, two years later. Prince was also overdue in 2008, paying on a 156-acre swath bordering his home.

Unless Prince makes good on these outstanding debts, the county will file with the court in May, according to Engelen. But tax forfeiture on most of the properties wouldn't occur for three years, she said.

When it rains, it pours!

Back in 2008, Prince was contractually obligated to perform at a 82,000-plus stadium in Dublin, Ireland. All systems were a go, and suddenly, just days before the performance, he decided to bow out of the concert with no explanation. The concert promoters, MCD, one of the biggest in Ireland, claimed they paid Prince half of his $3-million fee upfront. It cost them $950,000 to book the venue, and the businessmen also had to refund all of the 55,000 tickets that had been sold.

Today, a judge ordered Prince to pay a total of $2.95 million to the concert organizers.

During the court hearing last month, William Morris agent Denis Desmond disclosed information about the rare face-to-face meeting he had with his difficult client back in 2008. Desmond said he told Prince all about the raucous and upheaval he was causing due to the sudden cancellation. What was Prince's response? "Tell the cat to chill. We will work something out."

MCD lawyers claim they will employ bully tactics by utilizing a European Enforcement Order if Prince does not pay up soon.

Sign O' the Times?