When it comes to Hollywood liberals, Robert Redford boasts impeccable credentials. He attacks Republicans, supports President Obama and was named a “Hero of the Environment” by Time magazine.
But when it comes to tax authorities whom he thinks are unfairly targeting his profits, Redford is looking mighty tea partyish these days.
Turns out Redford is suing New York. He argues Empire State authorities have unfairly slapped him with a tax bill of $1.6 million over proceeds from his company’s 2005 sale of its Sundance Channel subsidiary, based here in New York.
In effect, he says, he’s being taxed twice.
He has a point. Redford held his stake in the Sundance Channel through something called an S-corporation. S-corporations pass their corporate profits and losses to shareholders who report them on their taxes as personal income.
Redford says he’s already paid his taxes on the sale in his home state of Utah.
In addition to throwing out this tax bill, he wants the court to force New York state to pay his legal fees.
Here’s our advice: Redford has said that the purpose of his annual Sundance Film Festival is to show “stories of what people in America are really dealing with.”
So why not bring tales of high-handed treatment of ordinary Americans by overweening tax authorities to the silver screen?
That would be a great way of getting even. And if he promised to film it in New York, he’d probably even get the state to help pay for it by qualifying for the Jimmy Fallon tax credit.