Robin Thicke has had a very successful career, with some of the biggest songs released over the past few years. From “Lost Without You” to “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke has been rolling in the dough with platinum albums and Billboard Hot 100 hits. But unfortunately, it looks like he hasn’t been paying Uncle Sam and now the government is looking to collect. According to The Blast, the IRS has filed a tax lien against the singer for a whopping $2 million.
Two Tax Liens:
It has been reported that two Federal tax liens have been filed against Thicke for 2014 and 2015. The government claims the Dreamworld singer owes $1,376,196.97 for 2014, and $935,784.06 for 2015. The grand total comes to $2,311,784.06. Around that time, Robin Thicke was hit with a few obstacles and the publication speculates the hurdles may be the reason for the tax issues.
Money Woes?:
In 2014, Robin Thicke released his album Paula amid his cheating scandal and highly publicized split from Paula Patton. Although the album was projected to be a huge success due to Thicke’s personal life, it didn’t perform as well as expected. Then to make matters worse, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were sued and ordered to pay $7.3 million to the estate of Marvin Gaye for their sample of “Blurred Lines.” The two were accused of sampling Gaye’s hit song, “Got to Give It Up.” Although Thicke and Williams are hoping to submit a request to an appeals court to have the decision overturned, it doesn’t look like that will be an easy feat. But despite the similarities in the songs, one question still stands: did Thicke and Williams really commit copyright infringement?
“This case wasn’t about the sound recording of ‘Got to Give It Up’,” she said. “It wasn’t about the groove and feel of ‘Got to Give It Up.’ It wasn’t about inspiration by the great artistry of Marvin Gaye. It was about one simple question: substantial similarity between the melody, lyrics, harmony, chords, and instrumentation in the deposit copy and ‘Blurred Lines.'” The meaning of this — Did Thicke and Williams commit copyright infringement? — turns on a technical issue. – Hollywood Reporter
It is unclear whether or not the appeal will work in Thicke’s favor. But with the latest tax liens, the Robin will probably be faced with quite a few legal battles in 2018.
