Rapper Flavor Flav Owes $183K+ in Back Taxes

Flavor Flav (Real Name: William Jonathan Drayton Jr.) member of rap group Public Enemy and reality TV star (The Surreal Life, Strange Love, Flavor of Love), was recently issued an IRS Tax Lien for owing the state of California upwards of $183,000 in back taxes.

Rappers & The IRS: Flavor Flav is a recent one of the handful of rappers that owe the IRS, including NAS, Method Man, and Lil' Kim.

Flavor Flav (William Jonathan Drayton Jr.) who is a member of Public Enemy, also a TV star has been hit with an IRS tax lien for owing the state of California over $183K in back taxes.

Quick Tax Tips for High Earners: Here's what celebrities and other high earners should do to prevent IRS tax issues from "sneaking up on them".

1. Hire an Accountant A reliable accountant is essential when you have your own business, or in the case of some rapper's and celebrities, your own empire. Hiring two or several accountants may be necessary to ensure your financial issues are taken care of and your taxes are paid. When you earn hundreds of thousands, or even millions, you have far to fall when your IRS taxes go unpaid. It will cost less to hire a professional than it will when you owe the IRS.

2. Work with a Reliable Professional Already got beef with the IRS? Quickly work to rectify the issue. Work with a tax attorney or a reliable tax professional if necessary to resolve the issue.

3. Drop Ridiculous Entitlement Issues Actor Wesley Snipes was famously sent to prison for his refusal to pay the IRS. Various groups will ensure high earners that they don't need to pay the IRS- but this obviously couldn't be further from the truth. No matter how famous or rich you are, the taxman wants his cut. You have to pay the IRS and it's ridiculous to thing otherwise.

4. Don't Bank Overseas Resist the hypnotic pull of hiding your funds in Swiss Bank Accounts. The IRS raid of Swiss Banking Giant UBS's accounts made national news. Disclosures were made, Americans were caught. The IRS even allowed taxpayer's with overseas accounts to voluntarily disclose their actions- or get caught the hard way. You will not get away with hiding funds in this economical climate.

Lessons: No matter who you are or what you do, you have to pay your taxes. It's astounding that thousands of people every year think they're exceptions to the rule. If you don't pay, it may take a while, but you will get caught.