'Empire' star Terrence Howard under investigation for tax evasion

Ben Arnold
·Contributor
FILE - In a September 23, 2017 file photo, actor Terrence Howard attends Fox's celebration of the "Empire" and "Star" television shows at One World Observatory in New York. Howard, who plays Jussie Smollett’s father on ‘Empire,’ has expressed support for his fellow cast member on social media. Smollett, who is black and gay, is charged with filing a false police report in January 2019 when he said he was attacked in Chicago by two masked men who used derogatory language and put a rope around his neck.(Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)
Terrence Howard (Credit: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Terrence Howard, the star of hit US show Empire, is under federal investigation for tax evasion, according to reports.

The Blast has seen court documents which lay out 'possible financial crimes' having been committed by Howard, his wife Mira Pak and Universal Bridges Inc, a company owned by his wife.

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Howard, who plays hip hop mogul Lucious Lyon in Empire, is said to have employed a 'high profile white collar criminal attorney' to defend him.

According to The Blast, he was hit with a tax demand in April of $143,538.61 by the State of California Franchise Tax Board for outstanding taxes dating back to 2010.

He's reportedly been the subject of previous tax demands, for $1.1 million in 2010, and $600,000 in 2006.

Mira Pak , left, and Terrence Howard arrive at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)
Mira Pak and Terrence Howard (Credit: Matt Sayles/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)

Howard and Pak have two sons together, Qirin and Hero, and married in 2013.

They then divorced after two years of marriage in 2015, before reconciling, with Howard proposing to her again in December last year.

Howard was famously canned from playing War Machine, aka Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, after the first Iron Man movie for Marvel.

He was the actor with the biggest pay cheque on the movie, thanks to a bigger profile at the time than the movie's star, Robert Downey Jr.

But 'salary conflicts' with the studio when it came to Iron Man 2 saw Marvel ditching Howard and hiring Don Cheadle instead, who has played the role right up to Avengers: Endgame.

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