Robert Reford Suing New York Over Sundance Tax Bill

Robert Redford is suing the state of New York over a $1.6 million tax bill he received after selling a 20 percent stake in the Sundance Channel in 2005.

Per USA Today, "...the state Department of Taxation and Finance audited the channel's filings and claimed Redford owed $845,000 in state taxes and $723,404 in interest."

"(Redford) did not use his ownership interest ... in any trade or business carried on by him in New York," the lawsuit reads, per the report. "Further, (Redford) did not have any property, payroll or receipts located in or deemed attributable to the conduct of a trade or business in New York."

Sundance Channel is the destination for What's Next, Now. Showcasing both today's creative icons and the emerging talent of tomorrow, sundance CHANNEL tells credible, authentic, and emotionally immersive stories of Invention, Fashion, Film, Travel, Design, and Enterprise. Launched in 1996 and owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc, sundance CHANNEL provides perspectives dedicated to founder Redford's mission to celebrate creativity

Redford previously starred as newsman Bob Woodward in the 1976 movie All The President's Men. The actor is also a director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Academy Awards: one in 1981 fordirecting Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime Achievement in 2002. In 2010, he was awarded French Knighthood in the Legion d'Honneur.

In April 2014, Time magazine included Redford in its annual TIME 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World" declaring him the "Godfather of Indie Film."

Photo by Walter McBride

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