Tax bill keeps Hogan in Australia

SYDNEY, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Actor Paul Hogan isn't allowed to leave his native Australia because he allegedly failed to pay millions of dollars in taxes, a charge he denies.

Hogan, 70, is based in Los Angeles. He was slapped with the bill by the Australian Taxation Office when he went home for his mother's funeral, the BBC said Wednesday.

The "Crocodile Dundee" star is accused of putting $27 million generated from film royalties in offshore tax shelters. Hogan vehemently denies the charge.

The BBC said Hogan is being detained in Australia until the matter is settled.

"He denies the liability asserted by the ATO and has filed objections which have not been the subject of any response," Hogan's lawyer Andrew Robinson told the British broadcaster. "The process of detaining Paul in Australia away from his wife and child has devastated him and he hopes that discussions between us and the ATO will lead to a prompt resolution allowing him to return to his family."