Martin Scorsese Owes $3 Million in Taxes

Martin Scorsese is in financial trouble again - he has been slapped with a tax bill for almost $3 million , according to a U.S. report.

The Goodfellas director has had a series of tax demands and debt issuesover the years - throughout 2002 and 2003 he was hit with three separateliens from the Internal Revenue Service (Irs), totalling $1.9 million .

A year later (04) another $149,437 demand was made, and last year (10) the filmmaker faced a lawsuit for allegedly failing to pay $600,000 to his jailed accountant Kenneth Starr.

Scorsese has since settled his previous tax debt in full, according to Finance Department records obtained by the New York Post.

But now he is facing another huge bill after he was handed a past-due notice for $2.85 million last month (Feb11).

Scorsese's debts are thought to stem from his dealings with Starr, who was this month (Mar11) jailed for more than seven years for embezzling $30 million from celebrity clients.

A source tells the New York Post, "(Scorsese had) been mismanaged for anumber of years when he was at Starr, and s**t started to happen. In a general sense, his finances were messed up, and this is probably one of the many things that didn't get tended to".

But Scorsese's representative Leslee Dart insists the Irs lien is "a complete mistake" and that he no longer owes any money, adding, "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 Irs debts".

A spokesperson for the Irs has refused to comment on "taxpayer facts".