Kris Jenner has nothing to worry about. While Kylie Jenner could go to jail for her fake tax returns (allegedly), a lawyer believes that it’s “highly unlikely” that will happen. In case you missed it, Forbes reported in June that Kylie inflated the “size and success” of her brand, Kylie Cosmetics, to reach billionaire status in 2019.
The magazine reported that, according to documents in Kylie Cosmetics’ sale to beauty company Coty in 2020, her brand’s profits were significantly less than she led the public to believe. “Based on this new information — plus the impact of COVID-19 on beauty stocks and consumer spending — Forbes now thinks that Kylie Jenner, even after pocketing an estimated $US340 million after taxes from the sale, is not a billionaire,” Forbes reported.
Per the magazine, Kylie’s current net worth is around $900 million, so not billionaire status, but not too far away either. The magazine also reported that Kylie may have submitted false tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service to legitimize her billionaire status in the eyes of financial publications like Forbes, which named her as a billionaire in 2019.
In an interview with The Sun, Beverly Hills attorney Michael Sachs said that it’s “highly unlikely” that Kylie was dishonest with the government, but if she was, the fake tax returns would be considered a “a very serious offense” that could send her to jail. “It’s very hard to believe someone at her level would risk major tax fraud,” Sachs said.
He continued, “It’s all about vanity for her as it is for a lot of people who reach for the title of ‘billionaire.’ It’s absolutely possible someone said to her ‘Let’s massage a little here and massage a little there’ when speaking to Forbes. But it’s very hard to believe she forged tax documents to the IRS.”
Given that business owners often report that they made less to avoid paying higher taxes, Sachs also doesn’t believe Forbes’ reporting that Kylie made less than what she reported. While Forbes has stood by their reporting, it seems like not everyone is convinced that Kylie scammed her way to being a billionaire.