Paul Hogan responds after the ATO hinted he paid ‘tens of millions’ to settle his tax battle

PAUL Hogan has hit back after the Australian Taxation Office hinted he paid ‘tens of millions of dollars’ to settled the dispute over his tax affairs.

COMEDIAN and movie star Paul Hogan has hit back after the Australian Taxation Office hinted he paid millions of dollars to end a dispute over his tax affairs.

A Senate committee hearing heard the battle between Hogan and the ATO has concluded after he paid back a significant sum of the reportedly $150 million he owed in tax and penalties.

Paul Hogan believes he was unfairly cast as a criminal by tax commissioner Chris Jordan in Senate Estimates today. @Riley7News #auspol pic.twitter.com/8M68d0ve9T

— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) May 30, 2017

Tax commissioner Chris Jordan told a Senate hearing on Tuesday he didn’t want to talk about the Hogan case.

“All I’ll say is, in the general comment, if people aren’t taken to court and charged it doesn’t mean substantial amounts of money weren’t paid to settle issues,” he said.

“Sometimes substantial amounts, in the tens of millions, are paid, and that covers the liability.”

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Paul Hogan has paid ‘tens of millions’ to settle his dispute with the ATO. Picture: News Corp

Nationals senator John Williams asked Mr Jordan if that meant he could take it “with confidence” that Hogan and others involved in the case had paid tens of millions of dollars to settle the case.

“I can’t talk about specific issues but yes, if we get what we think is the tax due to us, with penalties and interest, we’ll settle it,” the commissioner said.

Mr Jordan’s comments infuriated Hogan, who told 7 News: “I didn’t pay tens of millions to get out of anything. Not only have they breached confidentiality but they’ve lied.

“I should have sued the mongrels. I think I might have to,” he said.

Hogan announced in 2012 he had settled the case on a “without admission” basis. The ATO pursued Hogan for almost a decade alleging he owed $150 million in unpaid tax, penalties and interest, alleging he used offshore tax havens.

Originally published as Paul Hogan responds after the ATO hinted he paid ‘tens of millions’ to settle his tax battle