Despite success across the pond (he ranks third in Michelin stars) his U.S. company, Gordon Ramsay New York, was forced to hand over his signature New York restaurant last year to settle his financial troubles. And now the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) says Ramsay is one of the city’s top 250 “delinquent taxpayers.”

The Daily Dish says DTF is aggressively addressing the tax gap.  The chef owes a reported $250,000 to the state.  But a representative for Ramsay says, “There is an amount still outstanding to the New York State regarding sales tax. We are negotiating through our New York advisors to discharge this debt.”

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to fall behind on payments, to the taxman or otherwise, and simply have our debts discharged? Fortunately that’s not how our tax system works and DTF seems intent on collecting their due.

Take a lesson from this master chef: Pay your taxes in full and on time (or early). It’ll save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

Walker was well-known as a gambler on the court. A prolific outside shooter, he was often criticized for attempting 3-point shots at the expense of higher percentage inside shots. (An average NBA three pointer goes in only 36.7% of the time compared to 48.5% for a 2 point shot.) This criticism was largely misplaced: Walker averaged 0.98 points per 3 pointer attempted versus 0.89 points per 2 pointer attempted.

His gambling off the court, on the other hand, was far less publicized at the time — and far more personally damaging. When you’re playing “$15,000 hands with Michael Jordan during an all-night gambling session where estimates of money lost and won totaled several hundred thousand dollars,” you might have a problem. A salary of $49 million — a conservative estimate of what he took home after taxes and agent fees — is a lot, but that’s not Jordan money.

And as we’ve talked about before, the hidden costs of being a celebrity and “taking care” of friends and family adds up quickly:

Off the court, there were the cars, the jewelry, the houses, the suits, the gambling. He liked to move in an outsized entourage; his mother estimates that, during his playing days, he was supporting 70 friends and family members in one way or another. And speaking of his mother, he built her a mansion in the Chicago suburbs, complete with an indoor pool, 10 bathrooms, and a full-size basketball court.

[…]

Living at the Bishops Forest condominium complex in Waltham during the Celtics season, Walker turned the pavement surrounding his home into a virtual luxury car lot – two Bentleys, two Mercedes, a Range Rover, a Cadillac Escalade, a bright red Hummer. Often, the vehicles were tricked out with custom paint jobs, rims, and sound systems at considerable added expense. He also collected top-line watches – Rolexes and diamond-encrusted Cartiers.

The lessons here are simple and apply to everyone, not just athletes making $9 million a year: Make sure you’re saving a good chunk of your salary, limit your risky investments/gambles, and create and track a budget so you can stay on top of your cash flow.

We have received complaints of noise disturbances and guests wandering the hallway and Observation Deck. This is a direct violation of your Lease Agreement…Additionally, we were notified that you had over 10 cars parked in guest parking on the evening of September 25th. This is a violation of your lease … which states, “You may have no more than two overnight guests at a time unless we provide specific approval.”

He also owes his Los Angeles luxury apartment landlord almost $10,000 in unpaid rent and late fees.  Soulja maturely responded by posting a video on Twitter showcasing his jewelry and designer bag collection and the piles of cash he keeps in an unprotected shoe box in his apartment.

Flub #1: Unpaid rent and rental agreement violations.  A lot of young adults rent property either while in college or when they start their first job.  Rental agreements can come in many different forms from many different sources.  You might have a landlord, or maybe you’re subletting from a friend or renting through a lease in a big corporate run apartment building.  Whatever the case, make sure you read your rental agreement carefully.  Any violation of property rules, tenant guidelines, or deadlines can lead to expensive fees or even eviction.  There are certainly benefits to renting, especially when you’re young, but make sure you pay your rent on time and avoid violating your contract (cranking your music isn’t always a good idea).

Flub #2: Keeping cash and valuable items out in the open.  Protecting and insuring your valuables is a basic and important step especially when living on your own.  Keeping large amounts of cash is never a good idea.  Put your money in a savings account and important documents like birth certificates and savings bonds in a safe or safe deposit box.  Throwing around your valuables often leads to theft or misplacing things.

Take a few lessons from Soulja Boy:  Don’t crank your music. Pay your rent on time.  And keep your valuables safe – in a safe.

But as his homes sit unsold, the IRS filed another tax lien on the actor whose government tab now totals $6,617,550.84.  Failing to pay your taxes for multiple years is never a good idea.  This kind of balance due makes Pam Anderson’s $1.1 million debt look a little less daunting.

Not to mention from 2002-04 Cage improperly deducted things like limo rides, meals and gifts from his tax return to the tune of $3.3 million.

There are a few financial lessons we can take from this kind of celebrity mishap:

• Always pay your taxes.
• Have someone else look over your return to make sure it has been completed properly.
• Just because you’re rich and famous doesn’t mean you can get away with poor money management.

I’m not sure searching for actual treasure will help Mr. Cage out, but perhaps he should seek out a financial advisor to help get him back on track.

According to People magazine, Los Angeles County records show she owes more than $1.1 million to creditors:

According to the documents, five different construction companies have filed liens against her home, the largest being $674,043 for “labor and materials … to remodel main house, construct swimming pool, construct foundations for guest house.”

She also owes $252,360.39 in back state taxes and penalties for 2007.

With that, she joins the illustrious ranks of celebrities who have displayed disastrous financial-management skills. Just because you make a lot of it doesn’t mean you’re good with money.

Pam should remember the immortal words of the Notorious B.I.G.: “Mo’ money, mo’ problems.”