Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman hounded by the IRS

His accountant says it's all a matter of bad timing. Duane "Dog" Chapman is the owner of Dakine Bail Bonds in Honolulu, but is more well-known as the star of the A&E reality show, "Dog and the Bounty Hunter."

According to tax liens filed at the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances filed January 27, Chapman owes $2 million in unpaid taxes that go back as far as 2002. Not that he hasn't had his share of tax woes before... the IRS has been hounding him for years over various tax concerns, including tax liens that were filed for income earned in 1993 and 1994, and a previous lien in 2004, all of which are cleared up.

The latest round of liens shows the following unpaid tax liabilities on income earned in

2002 –- $106,553

2003 -- $99,235

2004 -- $283,514

2005 -- $1,560,000

Or... as tmz.com put it, the equivalent of 750,000 cans of Alpo.

Chapman's accountant, Dennis Duban of Los Angeles, says that all of these tax payments were made, though not on a timely basis. They were made at the last minute, and he adds, there is usually a six-week time lag between making the payments and getting the liens released. Duban adds that he's been trying to contact the IRS to clear up the fact that the amounts due were paid. He also acknowledges that his client owes taxes for more recent years.

"We show that he owes taxes for '06 and '07 but '02 to '05 was completely paid," he told reporters. "We're trying to catch up on the old years and to stay current."

Voice of the Editor

Even though any accounting auditor would tell you it seems like there are an awful lot of tax accountants out there, surely one-third of the country isn't made up of tax preparers, so it's rather startling news to learn that one-third of Americans like to do their taxes. Who knew?
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