More and more, it seems, celebrities are making themselves at home in the arena of tax troubles. The latest entertainer to spar with the IRS over unpaid taxes is Robin Givens, former wife of heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. The 44-year-old actress is being sued by the U.S. Government for what it says is $292,000 in unpaid federal taxes, interest, and penalties dating back to 1996.

Jerry R. Williamson, who allegedly promoted tax avoidance strategies to the actor Wesley Snipes and thousands of other customers of the Florida-based American Rights Litigators/Guiding Light of God Ministries (ARL), pleaded guilty to mail fraud in Federal court in Washington DC on Friday April 24 in connection with the schemes. Williamson, who was indicted last year along with Snipes's tax adviser Eddie Ray Kahn and three other associates, faces up to 20 years in prison. Williamson admitted that he that he sent a fictitious "Bill of Exchange" purporting to be drawn upon the U.S.

By midday Friday it looked like Helio Castroneves would be biting his nails through the weekend, waiting for the jury to continue deliberating this week. But by the end of the day Friday... he walked out of the courthouse, free. After six weeks of trial and another six days of deliberation, the jury deadlocked on the key charge of conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge Donald Graham declared a mistrial on the conspiracy charge and told Castroneves he was free to go. On his way out people everywhere, including court officials, congratulated him. "Go get 'em, Helio," said a U.S.

Updated April 3, 2009 - Last July, Wesley Snipes was acquitted of the worst of the tax evasion charges against him, but was still sentenced to 36 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5 million fine. Snipes remains free on bail while he appeals the decision, but Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges limited Snipes's foreign travel to London and Bangkok while the actor completed work on movies. In November, Snipes violated that restriction by attending a party for a resort opening in Dubai.

Three years of unpaid taxes, from 2002, 2003, and 2004... that's the bunker Jim Thorpe finds himself stuck in. Charges were filed in an Orlando, Florida federal court accusing Thorpe of failing to pay federal taxes – amounting to $1.6 million - on income of more than $5.2 million earned during that three year period.The U.S. Attorney's office in Orlando told reporters that in addition to the $1.6 million in taxes due, Thorpe is looking at a $3.2 million fine, and a possible seven year jail term, for failing to file income tax returns and three counts of failing to pay taxes.

With Congress in the hands of the Democrats, we're all still waiting a final count in the close Minnesota race for the U.S. Senate seat between incumbent Norm Coleman and his challenger, Al Franken. Franken is a comedian and political commentator who travels the country making speeches and earning speaker fees. Last spring as the Senate race started to heat up... so did the news that Franken had unpaid taxes in 17 states, plus other problems.