NATION : IRS Bills Bakkers for $1.2 Million
Fallen evangelist Jim Bakker and his wife, Tammy, received a $1.2-million tax bill Thursday from the Internal Revenue Service. The lien ordered the Bakkers to pay $666,000 for 1981 and $565,000 for 1982 in taxes, interest and penalties, the Orlando Sentinel reported today.
“I don’t owe taxes,” Bakker said when shown a copy of the lien. “I’ve always paid my taxes. It’s a part of the plot to destroy Jim and Tammy.”
Bakker is to stand trial in August on charges of fraud in connection with his former Praise the Lord ministry. Bakker, his wife and an aide have also been ordered to pay $7.6 million to PTL as part of a judgment in a suit that accused them of misusing ministry funds.
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