Back in the headlines, that is, after Arnold Schwarzenegger was stopped at Germany’s Munich airport over a criminal tax issue.
“Criminal tax proceedings have been initiated by us,” Munich customs office spokesman Thomas Meister told RTL, a broadcaster in Germany cited by NBC News. “This will then be processed by our criminal and fines office.”
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The issue had to do with a “luxury watch” the action star had brought into the country on the way to a charity event in Austria, according to an unnamed source NBC described as being “close to Schwarzenegger.”
The same source described the actor as cooperative and the German officials as “incompetent.”
“He cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown, a total comedy of errors that would make a very funny cop movie,” he or she told NBC.
Meister said the issue was not resolved, despite Schwarzenegger’s cooperation during his two-and-a-half-hour detainment.
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“It’s too early to say what the outcome will be,” Meister said. “There are many factors that have to be taken into account.
“It will still take some time,” he added.
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NBC said officials had not revealed what the next steps in the case would be.
“The source close to Schwarzenegger said he agreed to prepay any taxes on the expensive item, but couldn’t find a working credit card machine,” NBC reported. “Officers then walked him to an ATM at the airport to withdraw cash — but the withdrawal limit was too low and the bank was closed, the source said. A second credit card machine worked and the tax was paid.”
The star was headed to a charity event in Kitzbühel, Austria, Schwarzenegger’s home country. That event included a dinner and a charity auction that he was scheduled to host.
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“The watch will likely still be auctioned tomorrow, and the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative will properly report it, as all of Arnold’s nonprofits do,” the source close to Schwarzenegger told NBC.
In addition to the watch, one of the items being auctioned off was a training session with the five-time Mr. Universe winner.
Proceeds from the event would benefit “environmental projects and the annual Austrian World Summit climate conference in Vienna, organized by the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative,” according to NBC.
Page Six reported that the watch in question was “reportedly from the Swiss brand Audemars Piguet and worth more than $21,000.”
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“We hope Germany spends as much energy turning around their economy as they do asking for tax payments for people’s property they bring into the country, and we hope next time they don’t make him pay taxes on his suits,” an insider told Page Six.
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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of "WJ Live," powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English as well as a Master's in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
