DETROIT — An attorney representing the estate of the late Queen of Soul says at least $3 million in back taxes have been paid to the IRS since Aretha Franklin’s death this summer in her Detroit apartment.
David Bennett tells The Associated Press Thursday that Franklin’s estate is being audited by the IRS, which he says filed a claim this month in a county probate court north of Detroit.
TMZ reported earlier Thursday that legal documents it obtained showed the IRS claimed Franklin owes more than $6.3 million in back taxes from 2012 to 2018 and $1.5 million in penalties.
Bennett says all of Franklin’s returns have been filed. He adds that the IRS is questioning the filed returns and that Franklin’s estate is disputing what the IRS claims “was income.”
Franklin died of pancreatic cancer in August. She was 76.
Corey Williams, The Associated Press
