Report: Canseco Owes Back Taxes

BOSTON – Jose Canseco (search) may need to use his book advance to pay back taxes.

The former major league slugger owes $32,783 to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, The Sun of Lowell reported Saturday, saying his name appears on the DOR's "cybershame (search)" online database of people and businesses that underreported or failed to report income.

Canseco has recently been in the news because of his book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big (search)." In the book, published Monday, Canseco calls himself the "godfather of steroids in baseball" and names baseball players he says used steroids, including former teammate Mark McGwire (search).

The newspaper obtained copies of two liens totaling $29,841 the DOR placed on property owned by Canseco. Dated 2003, they list an address for Canseco of 10131 North Lake Vista Circle, Davie, Fla. That matches an address where Canseco was living in June 2003 when he was arrested by police in Florida.

Canseco's agent, Doug Ames, said the taxes were paid to Massachusetts but that the accounting firm that handled Canseco's taxes did not file an income tax return as required.

Canseco accumulated tax liabilities while playing for the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Ames said. He said the problem would be solved if the teams sent a letter to the DOR showing that the income taxes were deducted from Canseco's paychecks.

DOR spokesman Tim Connolly told The Associated Press on Saturday that it's illegal to comment on individual taxpayers.

Connolly said people on the "cybershame" list are longtime debtors who have been subjected to liens and other collection efforts such as fines that double the amount owed.

"Those are all cases where we've exhausted all of our normal collection remedies," he said.

Canseco won the 1986 AL Rookie of the Year and 1988 MVP. He spent 17 seasons in the major leagues, finishing in 2001 with 462 career home runs.