Entertainment

Should Nelly have to pay his taxes?

Matthew Bedford Freelance Contributor
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Rapper Cornell Haynes, better known as Nelly, has a message for the president: Don’t reach into his bank account.

“I’m trying to campaign, since the government ain’t working, we shouldn’t have to pay taxes,” Nelly told VH1 on Tuesday. “Because, you know, paying taxes is supposed to pay for the government, which in turn is not working. So if they’re not working, I shouldn’t have to pay taxes.”

Nelly, who has an estimated net worth of over $60 million, is the fourth highest selling hip-hop artist of all time, an occasional actor, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist from St. Louis, Missouri.  He believes that because of his he has a large income, any saving would be beneficial to his career.

“Me being in the upper echelon of the tax bracket, [I] feel that the money that I could be saving over these next couple a days could be very vital to my survival,” he says. “That’s how I feel about it.”

But while Nelly is telling us we shouldn’t have to pay until the government reopens, the IRS is saying the opposite.

The IRS issued a reminder that the Oct. 15 deadline remains in effect for filers who requested a six month extension to file their tax return.

“The current lapse in federal appropriations does not affect the federal tax law, and all taxpayers should continue to meet their tax obligations as normal,” the reminder reads. “Individuals and businesses should keep filing their tax returns and making deposits with the IRS, as required by law.”