Stars' whopping tax bills unpaid

KA CHING: Californian tax authorities are chasing Pamela Anderson and Lionel Richie for hundreds of thousands of unpaid taxes.

Pamela Anderson and Lionel Richie owe the government money.

California tax authorities say Anderson owes $524,241 (NZ$636,830) in personal income taxes. The Franchise Tax Board included the Baywatch star on a list of the state's 500 biggest income-tax delinquents recently posted.

Meanwhile, E! Online reports that Richie owes the federal government $1.1 million (NZ$1.34m) in unpaid taxes and that a lien has been issued warning that the singers' assets may be seized if he doesn't pay up in a timely manner.

A message seeking comments from Richie's publicist wasn't immediately returned. A call to Anderson's tax attorney, Robert Leonard, wasn't immediately returned.

California law requires tax authorities to update and publish the names and amounts owed by the state's 500 biggest tax scofflaws twice a year.

"When taxpayers do not pay their fair share, it places an unfair burden on those who do," the tax board said on its website, which said the 500 owe the state nearly NZ$283 million.

Other notable names on California's tax-delinquent list include CNET co-founder Halsey Minor, Joe Francis, the founder of the Girls Gone Wild video empire, actor Nick Cassavetes and boxer James Toney.

Minor and his wife, Shannon, are on top of the list for owing the state NZ$12.75 million in personal income taxes.

- AP