Bar Refaeli’s lawyers want Dicaprio to testify in tax evasion case

Bar Refaeli’s attorneys hope old flame will help her in court. 

By World Israel News Staff

Supermodel Bar Refaeli’s attorneys asked her former boyfriend, Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio, to present an affidavit to the court detailing his intense relationship with the model in the hope that it would help her in a tax evasion case, the Mako website reported on Monday.

In May, an Israeli court ordered Refaeli to pay taxes of over NIS 16 million (~$4.5 million).

The judge said that contrary to Refaeli’s claims of living out of the country, records showed she was in Israel for 185 days in 2009 and 131 days the following year. Those time frames made her an Israeli resident in those years according to Israeli law.

According to Israel’s tax law, an Israeli resident is liable to pay tax on all income earned abroad whereas a foreign resident would only pay taxes on income generated within Israel.

One of the arguments made by Bar Refaeli’s lawyers was that she was in a relationship with DiCaprio during that period and that relationship took place in the U.S., making the center of her life there with him.

They presented a photo album to the court to demonstrate the seriousness of the relationship. The judge noted the fact that DiCaprio didn’t himself testify in court, Mako reports.

Refaeli is appealing the case to Israel’s Supreme Court.

Before the appeal, her lawyers reached out to DiCaprio to ask if he’d be willing to take an active part in the trial and submit written testimony.

Refaeli is currently going through civil court, but she also faces a criminal proceeding, which may carry jail time. Her attorneys hope that DiCaprio’s testimony will also help her avoid a harsh criminal sentence, Mako reports.

bar refaeliisrael tax authorityTax evasion