Nathan Klein, The Daily Telegraph, reports
AUSSIE icon Paul Hogan has lashed out at the Australian Tax Office - claiming the organisation is full of bullies that make their own rules.
Branded a tax cheat, the Crocodile Dundee star was accused of using complex offshore structures to avoid paying millions of dollars in tax on income that includes profits from the hugely successful movie franchise.
Hogan was hit with a huge tax bill in late 2009 after the ATO accused him of not declaring $37.6 million over several financial years dating back to 1986 - accusations he continues to deny.
He said this morning he felt like he was out on bail, despite not being charged with anything.
"Some bureaucrat says I'm a flight risk and it's stupid," he told Macquarie Radio.
"I have to get permission to come back to the country to attend my son's wedding."
He said the seven-year probe into his tax affairs was "ridiculous'' and just bullying tactics.Hogan was hit with a huge tax bill in late 2009 after the ATO accused him of not declaring $37.6 million over several financial years dating back to 1986 - accusations he continues to deny.
He said this morning he felt like he was out on bail, despite not being charged with anything.
"Some bureaucrat says I'm a flight risk and it's stupid," he told Macquarie Radio.
"I have to get permission to come back to the country to attend my son's wedding."
"The tax office set out to make some money and they failed at that... they just want to make people really think about their tax, and put the fear of God into the Australian taxpayers,'' he said.
"I think that's terribly wrong. Are we supposed to be scared of the bastards? Of course we're not, it's a public service they are supposed to be providing."
Hogan also claimed the experience has "turned his life around".
The actor has said previously he wants $10 million from the ATO for damaging his reputation and wasting his money.
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