PAUL Hogan would be happy to pay any tax he had inadvertently missed.
But he wouldn't give the Australian Taxation Office "a dollar" if it was linked to spurious allegations of fraud or evasion.
The 70-year-old actor will find out today whether he can have a controversial Departure Prohibition Order lifted, after continued negotiations with the ATO.
Any wider resolution of Hogan's tax dispute is still months, if not years, away with the Federal Court yesterday setting down a one-week hearing for November to hear a claim by the Australian Crime Commission over the use of seized documents relating to his financial affairs.
Hogan, his artistic collaborator, John "Strop" Cornell, and their financial adviser, Tony Stewart, have been targeted as part of the nation's $300 million tax probe into offshore tax havens. All three have denied any wrongdoing and despite a five-year investigation have yet to be charged with any offences.
Last week Hogan was hit with an order banning him indefinitely from leaving the country until he settled his tax bill.
The size of the tax bill has not been disclosed, but The Australian is aware that after Hogan was issued with a mammoth bill, so too was a company of which he is a director. With massive penalties and interest dating back to 1986, this figure is climbing at a rapid rate, heading towards $150m.
Hogan is disputing the bills, and the basis on which they were issued, and told The Australian in a lengthy interview on Tuesday that there was no way he could pay even 10 per cent of what the tax office was demanding.
It was only last week - after five years of living in limbo - that Hogan found out what allegations he was facing. His fame had hindered, rather than helped his dispute, Hogan said.
"Believe me, I have been getting special treatment, and not the kind anyone wants," he said.
Hogan said he would be prepared to pay any tax that might inadvertently be owing, but maintained he was innocent.
"If they said you didn't declare this or that through a mistake . . . and you owe us, I would say check it out and see if it is right," he said.
"But if attached to it is - I am either the mastermind behind this tax evasion, or an acquiescer - I hope you can spell that - then I wouldn't give them a dollar. I wouldn't give them a dollar."
Hogan said he relied on the advice of numerous top accounting and legal firms and had spent millions getting the best advice from around the globe.
"What they do in financial circles is beyond my ability to comprehend," Hogan said.
"Why they would be sitting up there planning on evading tax for me when they have never met me, I don't know," he added, his sense of humour apparent despite the toll the latest setback is having.
Assistant Treasurer Nick Sherry, who has oversight of the tax office, declined to weigh into the dispute yesterday.
Asked whether he was confident that the ATO was acting properly in all such cases, Senator Sherry said: "I'm not saying anything about Paul Hogan or any other individual ATO matter."
When it was suggested to him that he should at least have a view on whether the ATO was generally acting properly, he said: "I won't comment."
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: MATTHEW DENHOLM
