Halsey Minor, CNet Founder, California's Biggest Tax Cheat

Found via LA Observed, the California Franchise Tax Board has released its list of the state's biggest delinquent taxpayers. This year, the honor goes to Cnet co-founder Halsey Minor and his wife Shannon, who owe a whopping $13,120,479.39 in personal income tax.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

In an email message, Minor said he had cash-flow issues that stem from moves by a lender to put liens on all his liquid assets, actions that he said are illegal and that he is now fighting in court. "I guess you could say the good news is I made a lot of money in tough times," he wrote.

Earlier this month, the New York Post reported Halsey had been ordered to pay Sotheby's $6.6 million for reneged bids:

CNET founder Halsey Minor owes the $4.4 million difference between his May 2008 bids and what Sotheby's wound up getting from other buyers after Minor backed out on his bill -- and $2.2 million in late charges and interest, Judge Barbara Jones ruled yesterday.

The rest of the list can be found here.