Celebrity Dr gets huge tax bill

17jun06
A CELEBRITY doctor faces a multi-million dollar tax bill because the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is stripping his foundation of its charity status.

Sydney doctor John Knight, better known as broadcaster and author Dr James Wright, has been ordered to pay $3 million in back taxes for the charity he set up 33 years ago with his family, the Medi-Aid Centre Foundation.

This follows revelations earlier this year of $58 million the foundation had invested with a US conman, The Sunday Telegraph reported today.

The ATO's ruling has cast further doubt over the future of the charity after Deputy ATO commissioner Mark Konza wrote to Dr Wright saying the foundation's "commercial activities were not commensurate with its benevolent purpose".

This potentially exposes Dr Knight to a tax bill for previously claimed charitable deductions, the paper said.

Source: http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19505462%255E1702,00.html