Chris Tucker should ask Nicolas Cage and Wesley Snipes about what happens when you try to screw Uncle Sam out of his rightful due.
The Rush Hour star owes more than $11 million in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, E! News has learned.
Quite a lot for a guy who barely works.
After a spurt of films in the mid-to-late '90s, Tucker's entire big-screen output since 1998 has consisted of Rush Hour and its two sequels. Though to be fair, those films have paid him quite handsomely. He pocketed a $20 million salary for Rush Hour 2 and $25 million for Rush Hour 3, along with a percentage of the box office on each.
Problem is, he allegedly forgot to give the government its pound of flesh, and it's not the first time, either. In June 2009, the state of California reportedly placed a tax lien on Tucker's properties for allegedly failing to pay a $3.5 million debt.
Now the feds want their cut.
Per federal tax lien documents filed with the L.A. County Recorder's Office Tuesday, Tucker, 37, is on the hook for $4,007,794.34 for the year 2001; $5,060,074.23 for 2002; $55,544.84 for 2004; $660,414.94 for 2005 and $1,788,080.91 for 2006. That brings the grand total the comic actor owes in federal taxes to $11,571,909.26.
A rep for the funnyman was unavailable for comment.
Perhaps hoping to improve his cash flow, Tucker is next slated to reunite with Rush Hour helmer Brett Ratner for Mr. S, My Life With Frank Sinatra, a film about a valet's relationship with Ol' Blue Eyes during the Rat Pack era.
After all, Tucker probably won't wind up pulling a Snipes. We don't think he'd do prison too well.