Marc Anthony owes New York $2.5M
Lewis O'neal  |  by jam.canoe.ca. All rights reserved. 13.04 | 2:55

Musical artist and actor Marc Anthony gestures during an appearance, in this file photo from Sept. 29, 2006. (AP/Brennan Linsley-File)

NEW YORK (AP) - Singer Marc Anthony will be paying about $2.

5 million in back taxes, interest and penalties because of his failure to file returns for five years, prosecutors in New York said Wednesday. Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said that Anthony, who was not prosecuted on tax charges, failed to file returns for 2000 through 2004 on $15.5 million in income.

He said the singer, who is married to Jennifer Lopez, filed tax returns for 2005. Morgenthau's chief of investigations, Assistant District Attorney Daniel Castleman, said Anthony and Lopez, 37, do not file jointly so she was not implicated in the investigation. Morgenthau said his office did not prosecute Anthony, 38, because a professional accountant prepared his tax returns and the entertainer apparently thought the returns had been filed and any due taxes had been paid.

"We have to be able to show intent" to cheat on taxes, Morgenthau said. He said Anthony had relied on professional accountants in the past and there were no problems. He said the delinquencies began when Anthony changed accountants.

A state Department of Taxation computer drew attention to Anthony, whose real name is Marco Antonio Muniz, when it kicked out his state return because of discrepancies, said Peter Farrell, an assistant deputy commissioner of the department. Castleman said Anthony will remit $2.5 million in back taxes, interest and penalties to satisfy the total owed by him and three of his companies.

Anthony, who recently produced his wife's first all-Spanish album, "Como Ama una Mujer (How a Woman Loves)," signed the payment agreement April 3. One is Anthony's brother, Bigram Zayes, who acted as the general manager of the singer's companies from 2000 to early 2003, Morgenthau said.

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Keywords: New York, Marc Anthony, District Attorney
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