Soulful diva Lauryn Hill is serving a three-month prison sentence in Connecticut for not paying over $1 million in taxes over the past 10 years. She will be serving her time in a minimum-security prison and work a variety of jobs including food service, landscaping and maintenance.
According to Rolling Stone, Hill pled guilty in June 2012 for $1.8 million in earnings from 2005-2007. After the trial and sentencing Hill owed around $2.3 million.
Her lawyer tried to get only parole for her arguing all the charity work she supports and paying off the IRS should get her out of jail. Hills lawyer Nathan Hochman said, "Ms. Hill has not only now fully paid prior to sentencing her taxes, which are part of her criminal restitution, but she has additionally fully paid her federal and state personal taxes for the entire period under examination through 2009." Rolling Stone said Hill repaid $504,000 she owed to the federal government. She in total paid over $900,000 with state taxes and penalties. Hills reason for not paying taxes was because she had left the music world to protect herself and her family.
Huffington Post reports that before the trial Hill posted on her Tumblr her opinion on racism, slavery and the IRS. She goes on to rant about how the IRS is targeting her because of racism. Hill said, “The concept of reverse racism is flawed, if not absolutely ridiculous. Most, if not all of the negative responses from people of color toward white people, are reactions to the hatred, violence, cruelty and brutality that they were shown by white people for centuries.”
After Hill is released from prison she will be on parole for a year and house arrest for the first three months.
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