Aretha Franklin's attorney says estate has paid $3 million in back taxes to the IRS

DETROIT – An attorney says the Queen of Soul's estate has paid at least $3 million in back taxes to the IRS since Aretha Franklin's death last August in Detroit.

David Bennett, who represents Franklin's estate, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the estate is being audited by the IRS, which he says filed a claim this month in a county probate court north of Detroit.

TMZ reported earlier Thursday that legal documents it obtained showed the IRS claimed Franklin owes more than $6.3 million in back taxes from 2012 to 2018 and $1.5 million in penalties.

Bennett says all of Franklin's returns have been filed. He adds that the IRS is questioning the filed returns and that Franklin's estate is disputing what the IRS claims "was income."

Franklin died of pancreatic cancer in August. She was 76.

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