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The IRS has several tax liens against 2007 World Series of Poker winner Jerry Yang including one for $571,894.54.
A federal tax lien is the government’s legal claim against your property when you neglect or fail to pay a tax debt. The lien protects the government’s interest in all your property, including real estate, personal property and financial assets."
One of Yanng’s properties is about to be auctioned off. The IRS has also seized his 2007 WSOP bracelet.
Yang explained the situation during an appearance on Fifth Street Radio recently.
“The one mistake that I made was I should have paid my taxes before I made the donations.,” Yang said in reference to his donating 10 percent of winnings to Ronald McDonald House and Make a Wish Foundation. “After I made my donation to those three organizations and some other organizations, my church, and helping my relatives, friends and siblings, I began a business, a restaurant.
“I did pay my state taxes, over $900,000. Unfortunately, I’m not going to blame anybody but myself, but I encountered people that I thought I could trust and would give me good advice, but unfortunately some of the people that I hired or got on my team were advising me in the wrong way, if you will. So I did make some mistakes, and what made the matter worse was that in April of 2008, when it was time to pay the federal tax, there was a financial crisis with the Bank of America, and that’s where I put my money in. Unfortunately, all my funds were locked away, were frozen if you will, and so I wasn’t able to pay my federal taxes on time.
“Due to penalties the amount that I owed at that point, after I paid everything, I owed roughly between $150,000-$170,000 due to penalties and things like that. That’s why I owe the IRS a little bit more than that today. That is basically the story. Again, I don’t have anybody to blame but myself.”
Yang walked away with over $8 million as part of his 2007 WSOP victory.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
