Mandatory Credit: Photo by Nils Jorgensen / Rex Features ( 340444j )
Paul Hogan Banned From Leaving Australia Over Massive Tax Bill
A "stunned" and outraged Paul Hogan, star of "Crocodile Dundee", has been banned from leaving Australia until he pays a multi-million-pound tax bill.
Hogan, now permanently based in the US, returned to Sydney to attend the funeral of his mother Florence.
However, as well as being welcomed by his mourning family he was served with a Departure Prohibition Order by the Australian Taxation Office.
The order stops him from leaving Australia and if he does attempt to fly overseas from any airport he will be immediately arrested.
There is also no time limit to how long the actor may be forced to stay in the country.
Hogan has been ordered to pay a tax bill, believed to be around GBP 8 million, on GBP 21.4m of undeclared income.
According to authorities he is considered an Australian for tax purposes, despite living in the US for years and paying tax there.
The actor has been involved in a five-year-long wrangle with Australian tax and crime investigators over claims that he used offshore bank accounts to conceal earnings.
Hogan has denied any wrongdoing and disputes the tax bill; no charges have ever been brought against him.
Hogan's lawyer Andrew Robinson commented: "He is stunned and very disappointed that the government could treat him as a flight risk"
MUST CREDIT PHOTOS BY: Please refer to individual images for credit
For more information visit http://www.rexfeatures.com/stacklink/EZQGHQQSD