Tax Relief Music with Beatles, Kinks, Johnny Cash and More

“Taxman’s taken all my dough…”

The saying goes that the only certainties in life are death and taxes, and while we certainly hope that everyone makes it through the day, we also hope everyone remembered to file their taxes.

Tax day is a drag, but it has inspired some great songs, including the Kinks classic “Sunny Afternoon” (above) and the Beatles’ “Taxman” (featured in a fun animated video below).

Of course, plenty of stars have had problems with the tax man over the years. Keep reading for the scoop on some well-known tax-evaders, and let us know what songs to add to our playlist of topical tunes (so far, we’ve got Johnny Cash, Relient K, Cheap Trick-who should we add?).

In 2000, opera star Luciano Pavarotti agreed to pay over $11 million in back taxes and penalties to the Italian government. He was charged with tax evasion again in 2001, but those charges were cleared.

Judy Garland was a musical idol thanks to her role in the Wizard of Oz, but according to Roni Deutch in 1967 she was hit with a New York tax bill for $4 million dollars. (We’re not so sure about that figure–other sources say it was only a few hundred thousand bucks…which is still a lot!)

In 2007, Hip Hop mogul Damon Dash faced a $2 million tax bill and reportedly turned to Roc-a-Fella Records partner Jay Z for a loan.

Ok, we give up.
Reading about other peoples’ tax problems isn’t really as fun as we’d hoped…so let’s check out some music instead.

1. Spinal Tap-Give Me Some Money
2. Pink Floyd-Money
3. Johnny Cash-After Taxes
4. Cheap Trick-Taxman, Mr. Thief
5. Relient K-Life After Death and Taxes

 
Can you think of any other songs we should add to our list?