British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, well known for his reality show Hell’s Kitchen, is raising a little hell when it comes to his taxes.
Despite success across the pond (he ranks third in Michelin stars) his U.S. company, Gordon Ramsay New York, was forced to hand over his signature New York restaurant last year to settle his financial troubles. And now the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) says Ramsay is one of the city’s top 250 “delinquent taxpayers.”
The Daily Dish says DTF is aggressively addressing the tax gap. The chef owes a reported $250,000 to the state. But a representative for Ramsay says, “There is an amount still outstanding to the New York State regarding sales tax. We are negotiating through our New York advisors to discharge this debt.”
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to fall behind on payments, to the taxman or otherwise, and simply have our debts discharged? Fortunately that’s not how our tax system works and DTF seems intent on collecting their due.
Take a lesson from this master chef: Pay your taxes in full and on time (or early). It’ll save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
