Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne paid off their $1.7 million US tax debts, a week after learning about their financial troubles from the news media.
Reuters reports Sharon said on Thursday the federal tax bill had been paid, and she was now on a mission to find out why the Internal Revenue Service filed a lien on one of the British couple's Los Angeles-area residences.
"At 4 PM on Friday afternoon I received a phone call from my publicist, who had a reporter on the other line informing her that the IRS had just put a lien on one of our properties," Osbourne said in a statement released to gossip writer Perez Hilton. She linked to it from her Twitter feed.
"I then contacted my accountant who said they knew nothing about any lien. The lien has been paid. I do intend to find out how this lien happened without the knowledge of myself or my accountants. I hope none of this reflects negatively on mine and Ozzy's moral character."
In earlier Twitter messages, Osbourne appeared to point the finger at the couple's financial advisers but also took personal responsibility for the mess.
"Just because you're paying someone doesn't mean they're doing the job correctly," she wrote on Friday. Three days later she added, "You can't rely on anyone but yourself. You have to be on top of your own business affairs. My fault ... lesson learned."
According to the lien, filed on April 4th, the couple owed $718,948.25 for the 2008 tax year, and $1,024,175.03 for 2009. A lien attaches to all property, such as a house or car, and usually gives the IRS first call on the sale proceeds.
Ozzy Osbourne Ozzy Osbourne with Metallica – Paranoid
25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame concert
MSG – NYC – October 30, 2009
See also:
Ozzy Osbourne to receive Kerrang! Rock Legend Award
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s massive IRS Tax Lien
Ozzy Osbourne: OzTV hits Porto Alegre & Sao Paulo
Ozzy wants a happy funeral
