Will Sean Connery Tax Probe Bother His Fans?

Hollywood legend Sir Sean Connery and his wife, Micheline, have been placed under investigation in Spain regarding allegations of tax fraud. According to AFP, this is the first step that could lead to formal charges of tax fraud against Connery.

The report states that Sean Connery failed to pay approximately $2 million in taxes following the sale of development rights for a property near the resort town of Malaga. This investigation comes on the heels of charges in May of money-laundering, following the sale and subsequent development of a villa Connery sold in 1999 in Marbella, near Malaga.

Sean Connery is by no means the first celebrity to be investigated for tax problems; Fox News reported a laundry list of celebrity tax woes late in 2009 following the revelation that Nicolas Cage was facing more than $6.3 million in back taxes to the IRS. Hell's Kitchen's Chef Gordon Ramsey is reported to have been late filing his U. K. taxes in 2009 due to financial problems in his restaurant empire.

Celebrity tax nightmares aren't a new story. Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in 2008 for tax evasion and is still free awaiting his appeals. It took Germany 10 years to convict tennis great Boris Becker of failing to pay three million euros from 1991-1993. The IRS seized Willie Nelson's property following a $16.7 million tax lien.

If Sean Connery is convicted of tax fraud and money-laundering, how will it affect his career?

Sir Sean Connery is almost 80 years old, and his most recent film was 2003's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Connery has an animated project in the works, Sir Billi. How could the career of an actor as legendary as Connery possibly be affected by tax charges? If anything, Connery is facing massive fines and payment of the owed taxes.

Could Sean Connery face prison time? Anything is possible, but investigations take time, trials take time and, while it's hard to admit, at 80 years old, Connery is in his twilight.

If celebrity tax history is any indication, Sean Connery's fans won't even bat an eye at the recent charges. Pete Rose, one of the greatest to ever play the game of baseball, was convicted in 1990 of failure to pay taxes on his earnings from memorabilia sales, autographs and horse gambling. Late baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti banned Rose from baseball for life when evidence surfaced that Rose bet on baseball games. Still, every year, there is a rallying cry for current commissioner Bud Selig to reinstate Pete Rose to baseball in hopes that he can take his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Willie Nelson still tours and sells albums, Nicolas Cage still makes movies and people tune in every week to see what abuse Gordon Ramsey will heap upon his contestants.

Sean Connery's film library will remain alive and well on DVD and cable film festivals.

Sources: Sean Connery official website ; AFP ; Fox News ; Yahoo! News ; New York Daily News

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