Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom has filed suit against the Internal Revenue Service because it would not allow him to deduct $12,000 in fines and $127,000 for fitness training.
The 31-year-old pro basketball player sued the IRS for sending him a tax bill of $87,000 for 2007, according to
Odom claimed $9.3 million in adjusted gross income that year, and has more recently signed a multi-year deal with the Lakers for up to $33 million. He also earns income from his own line of clothing and endorsements of Samsung mobile phones.
The IRS informed Odom in a note accompanying the bill, We have disallowed some of the expenses you claimed as business expenses because it was determined they were personal expenses and not deductible.
Odom has not hired a tax attorney and wrote his own response to the IRS. He objected to the tax bill, noting, The fines imposed by the team and the NBA are not imposed for the violation of any government law and are therefore not specifically excluded.
Odom also characterized the player fines as an ordinary and necessary employee business expense.
