Crocodile Dundee allowed to leave Oz after tax row

After a two-week stand-off with Australian tax officials, Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan has finally been allowed to return to the US. The 70-year-old Ozzy actor came to Sydney on August 20 for his mother’s funeral but was slapped with a bill for £21.4 million in undeclared income.

After a long and well-publicised row with the Australian Tax Office, the star has finally be given the go-ahead to return to his wife Linda Kozlowski and his son Chance in Los Angeles. He left Sydney Airport in a joke, stick on moustache in a pop at his enforced fugitive status.

Speaking on his arrival at the Los Angeles LAX airport this weekend, Mr Hogan called the USA a tax haven and thanked the Internal Revenue Service for being nicer to him than their Australian counterparts. Hordes of paparazzi greeted him for his triumphant return.  

Mr Hogan was slapped with a Departure Prohibition Order when he arrived in his home country stating that he could not leave until his alleged unpaid tax debt was settled. Australian authorities say Mr Hogan is liable for £8 million of taxes, despite him living and paying taxes in the US for many years.

The tax office, however, claims Mr Hogan did not pay taxes in either the US or Australia for a number of years. The actor’s financial adviser and artistic collaborator has also been accused of lodging tax returns containing false statements in an Australian court.