Dog the Bounty Hunter in the Dog House Again

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks and apparently, in the case of Dog The Bounty Hunter, this cliché rings true. Several media outlets are reporting that Duane Chapman, better known as Dog The Bounty Hunter, star of the A&E reality show, is the subject of several tax liens brought down by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

According to a report from Pacific Business News, Dog The Bounty Hunter owes over $2 million dollars in unsatisfied tax debts that stem from his yearly income. The breakdown of taxes owed are as follows: $106,553 for 2002, $99,253 for 2003, $283,514 for 2004, and $1.56M for 2005. It's kind of interesting to note - and also a bit ironic - that the 2002 and 2003 tax debts coincided with other legal woes facing the bounty hunter at the time involving the kidnapping of wanted fugitive Andrew Luster in Mexico.

Dog's accountant, LA based Dennis Duban, disputed the validity of the tax debts, stating that, while Dog does owe taxes for the years 2004 and 2005, the bills for 2002 and 2003 have been paid in full. Duban cited a six-week delay within the IRS for the misinformation. This isn't the first time Dog The Bounty Hunter has found himself on the wrong side of federal tax laws. Pacific Business News also reported liens were filed in 1993 and 1994 against Dog The Bounty Hunter for unpaid taxes on income for those years. Records indicate that those liens are still on the books and the debts have yet to be satisfied. An IRS spokesperson stated that releases of the liens are automatically generated by the system once the debts are paid in full, but filing them at the courthouse may take several weeks.
Duban also stated that he 'feels badly' that Dog and his wife Beth are having to deal with this. It is not clear whether the statement was meant to imply that the Chapmans are some how above fulfilling their tax duties.

It has not been established whether or not Dog The Bounty Hunter was aware of the taxes owed. Publicist Mona Woods declined to comment when contacted by The Honolulu Advertiser. Of course, a reasonable person would assume that if you have income, you also have taxes. Perhaps all of this could have been avoided, had The Dog followed his own advice.

"You should have called, brah."

Sources:
Honolulu Advertiser
TMZ.com
Pacific Business News