This hasn't been a great year for Lindsay Lohan. It started with an IRS tax lien for about $94, 000 for 2009 income, followed closely by another for nearly $150,000 for 2010 income. Then there was more of the usual negative publicity we've come to expect from the troubled actress.

 

But as the year draws to a close, the tax news got a little better. Over her initial protest, fellow actor Charlie Sheen came to the rescue with a check for $100,000 that will at least wipe out her tax bill for 2009. 

 

What else has Lohan been up to this year? In late spring and early summer, after a long stay at an upscale southern California hotel, the management requested the honor of her departure, for nonpayment of her bill. Ouch. 

 

In early fall, she and Sheen costarred in Scary Movie 5 and became friends. That's when Sheen first offered help with her nearly quarter-million-dollar tax bill, but she declined.

 

Next came something out of left field, even for Lohan. In the run up to the November election, she offered tax advice to President Obama regarding his plan to raise taxes on the "wealthy," via Twitter, an indication that she was feeling the weight of her own tax burden. From Lindsay to POTUS: @BarackObama. "We also need to cut them (taxes) for those that are listed on Forbes as 'millionaires,' if they are not, you must consider that as well."

 

Then, in late November, came the release of her much-touted Lifetime movie, Liz and Dick, in which she plays Elizabeth Taylor. 

 

Finally, in the waning days of November, came the rescue. In spite of her refusal of help, Charlie Sheen delivered a check for $100,000 to Lohan that will clear a good chunk of her debt to Uncle Sam. Now she's left with a balance of $133,904. Forbes magazine reported earlier this year that she was on track to earn $2 million for 2012, plus $1 million last year from a Marilyn Monroe-style spread in Playboy. With an income like that, paying her remaining back taxes should be easy, right? With some celebrities . . . it just never is.