Tax man crosschecks Red Wings star Chris Chelios
Detroit Red Wings star Chris Chelios may be a tough defenseman, but he can't beat the tax man. The Oakland County treasurer claims the superstar owes more than $78,000 in delinquent property taxes, interest and fees, according to public records.
Chelios, who has been paid more than $48 million in salary since 1989, is earning $750,000 this season in a mostly backup role. He returned to Detroit's lineup against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday after Brian Rafalski was injured.
Chelios, 47, whose grueling off-season workouts have become legendary, also owns two popular chili bars in Dearborn and near Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.
What's owed:- Chelios and his wife Tracee owe $78,063 in delinquent property taxes on their Bloomfield Hills home, which has been assessed at $2.9 million. They have not paid 2007 summer or winter taxes, according to this public record from the Oakland County Treasurer's office. Chelios owes $61,544 in taxes and is being charged $16,519 in interest and fees, and that figure rises if he doesn't pay this month. The county filed this Certificate of Forfeiture against the couple on April 9, meaning if they don't pay the back taxes by the end of March 2010, the house, which you can see below, will be foreclosed, Oakland County Treasurer Patrick Dohany said.
Dohany said it is interesting the 2007 taxes haven't been paid considering Chelios did pay last year's property tax bill.
"Obviously there's some sort of glitch somewhere," Dohany said Wednesday.
His side:
Chelios did not know about the delinquent property tax bill until being notified by the Tax Watchdog, team spokesman John Hahn said Wednesday.
"These payments are not handled personally, rather through his accounting firm," Hahn wrote in an e-mail. "During 2007-08, he changed firms and apparently, the tax bill for his Detroit-area home was not forwarded to the new firm. The bill will be paid in full by the end of the week."
Comments
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sorry
So, not only is Chelios a lousy player, he's also a lousy payer!!!!
Snell, truly pathetic journalism
This article is a joke and Robert Snell should be a little more concerned about his lack of journalism skills than about a local pro athelete's property tax bill which was obviously a misunderstanding. Chelios gives back to the community, he's not a deadbeat, so why throw dirt on him by writing this crap in the newspaper?
Cheap Shot by Robert Snell
Yes this article was defiantly a waste of ink.....Robert...maybe you should be working for a Tabloid instead of a Local news paper.. or is that the new direction of the Detroit news....Tabloid??
Chelios back taxes
Way to go Chelly, every one else should follow suit ..
MICHIGAN TEA PARTY..YEAH BABY !!
Cheap Shot by Robert Snell
I used to run a newsroom..Robert Snell should be glad I do not run his newsroom..he would be out on the street. That was just absolute sloppy work.
Cheap Shot by Robert Snell
Hey Robert Snell, the previous commentor was correct, why even report this?
You write 90% of the article as if Chelios is just a dead beat rich guy and only mention at the tail end the problem is a tax accounting firm switch.
What a slanted article. Small wonder why journalists in general get so little respect. Keep your opinions and agendas out of your reporting.
By the way, being jealous of someone's honestly earned income is not excuse for slanted reporting.
Chelios back taxes
Why even report this? This guy is paying more in property taxes than many people earn a year. I'm sure all the readers out there who are struggling to make ends meet are happy to know Chelios has the money to pay these taxes..
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