Paul Hogan, AM (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian comedian, actor and television presenter. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won a Golden Globe award for his performance as outback adventurer Michael "Crocodile" Dundee in "Crocodile" Dundee (1986), the first in the Dundee series film franchise.

Biography

Hogan and his first wife, Noelene Edwards, married in 1958. They separated and divorced in 1981 and remarried less than one year later. A second divorce, initiated in 1986, was considered one of Australia's ugliest in celebrity circles. Hogan married his "Crocodile" Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski in 1990. He has five children with his first wife and one with his second wife. In October 2013, Kozlowski filed for divorce from Hogan, citing irreconcilable differences. He is an Australian Republican.


Tax problems
Hogan has been named as one of a group in connection to a A$300 million Australian tax fraud investigation called Operation Wickenby, investigating 23 companies for allegedly using overseas companies to hide income. In July 2008, Hogan commented to Network Ten that he had "paid plenty of tax" in Australia and that he had nothing to fear from the Australian Taxation Office investigation.

In October 2008, Hogan scored a major victory in his tax fight with the Australian Crime Commission, who were forced to pay up to an estimated A$5 million for legal bills dating back to 2006 and were required to return seized personal financial documents that they had admitted were irrelevant. Hogan has not been charged in connection with the investigation, which began in 2003.

On 18 June 2010 in the Australian High Court, Hogan lost a long-running legal battle to keep the contents of his tax documents secret, paving the way for details of his offshore accounts to be published. Earlier the same year, Australian media reported that the Australian Crime Commission was in the final stages of preparing to lay criminal charges of tax evasion against him, film producer John Cornell and their accountant Anthony Stewart, whom it suspects of channeling millions of dollars from the proceeds of the film "Crocodile" Dundee and other films into offshore tax havens. The release of the documents is expected to help finalize their case.

On 20 August 2010, Hogan flew to Sydney for his mother's funeral. Upon arrival he was issued a Departure Prohibition Order by the Australian Taxation Office, which prevented him leaving the country until his alleged tax debt was paid or settled. The nation's tax office claims he owes taxes on A$37.5 million of undeclared income. On 3 September, Hogan was granted permission to return to the US through an agreement between his lawyers and Australian tax officials, though the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. Hogan continues to deny any wrongdoing in the case.

In November 2010, the Australian Tax Office dropped its criminal investigation of him and his business manager for tax evasion.

In January 2011, it was announced that Hogan is suing the Australian government, his lawyer stating that Hogan's "earning potential and reputation has been decimated." Hogan has since likened the Australian Tax Office to the Taliban and referred to staff as 'a-holes'.

In May 2012, it was announced that following mediation before ex-High Court Judge the entities settled with the Commissioner of Taxation in an agreement "without admission". The parties have agreed that the terms of the settlement are to be confidential, but as part of the settlement, the Departure Prohibition Order has been revoked by the Commissioner. As of April 2013, Hogan's financial advisor Stewart remained in a dispute with the Australian Tax Office.

Hogan then reappeared in the media in April 2013 due to an AU$32.3 million issue with a Swiss bank run by the Geneva firm Strachans. Following the placement of the monetary sum in an offshore account for the purpose of tax avoidance, Hogan is unable to access the funds as of April 2013 and a United States court action that sought AU$80 million in damages proved unsuccessful for Hogan. Hogan publicly stated that he believes that Philip Egglishaw, the principal of Strachans and a former tax advisor to Hogan, has absconded with the money and Hogan's American legal representative Schuyler "Sky" Moore filed corresponding documents in a Californian Court based on this claim. On 18 April 2013, it was reported that Egglishaw denied the allegations of his former client.

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