Martin Scorsese owes $3 million in taxes

Hollywood director Martin Scorsese is facing financial trouble.

New York: Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese is facing financial trouble after he was slapped with a tax bill for almost USD 3 million.

This is not the first instance of tax trouble for the `Shutter Island` director, who was handed a past-due notice for USD 2.85 million last month, the New York Post reported online. Scorsese`s debts reportedly stem from his dealings with notorious former business manager Kenneth Starr, who was this month jailed for more than seven years for embezzling USD 30 million from celebrity clients, including acting great Al Pacino, who is now facing a tax bill of USD 188,000 from Internal Revenue Service. "(Scorsese had) been mismanaged for a number of years when he was at Starr. In a general sense, his finances were messed up, and this is probably one of the many things that didn`t get tended to," a source told newspaper. But the director`s representative Leslee Dart insists the new lien is "a complete mistake" and that he no longer owes any money. "The IRS prematurely filed this lien even though Mr Scorsese had an agreement with the IRS to make payments and was fully complying. As of this moment, the entire amount is full paid, and he has no current debts," Dart said. A spokesperson for the IRS has refused to comment on "taxpayer facts". `The Departed` director was hit with three separate liens from Internal Revenue Service throughout 2002 and 2003 for a total of USD 1.9 million. In 2004, another USD 149,437 demand was made, and last year the filmmaker faced a lawsuit for allegedly failing to pay USD 600,000 to his jailed accountant Starr. Scorsese has since settled his previous tax debt in full, according to Finance Department records. PTI