By Ryan C. Wood

William Gary Busey filed the rest of his bankruptcy petition, Bankruptcy Case No. 12-11182, on February 15, 2012.  The section 341 meeting of the creditors is scheduled for March 12, 2012.  Mr. Busey’s bankruptcy petition provides information about his assets, income and expenses.

Surprisingly Mr. Busey’s assets are limited to some personal property with an approximate total value of $26,225.  At the time the bankruptcy case was filed Busey alleges a total of $1,200 in funds in deposit account.  Busy owns no property and alleges his largest single assets is his right to residual income from several television shows and movie parts.

The single largest debt and probable reason why Busey filed for bankruptcy protection is his unpaid taxes.  Busey owes the Internal Revenue Service and Franchise Tax Board a total of $451,297.33 from the years beginning in 1998 to 2009.  The good news for Busy is that around $379,389.33 of the taxes owed is not a priority debt and therefore eligible to be discharged in his bankruptcy.  The remaining $71,908 is a priority debt given that the taxes were not paid for the year 2009 and therefore eligible to be discharged.

Busey’s income is primarily derived from his acting ($14,808.08 a month) and pensions from the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists ($4,021 a month).  Busey also receives social security income each month totaling $770 and some residual income each month totaling $131.63.  His income seems to have been pretty consistent from 2010 to present.  The problem is due to the amount of taxes he owes his monthly income is not large enough to make a dent in repaying the taxes.

You may wonder how an actor who is making over $18,000 a month can qualify to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and discharge his unsecured debts nonpriority debts.  It is not about how much Busey makes each month but how much he spends.  Busey’s expenses exceed his income by about $2,939 each month.  One of the largest monthly expenses other than his various business expenses is his rent totaling $3,595 each month.  Busey spends another $1,680 in childcare, $763 life insurance, $4,500 in taxes, $700 storage unit, it appears $1,158 for his seventeen old daughter and $7,574 in business expenses.

It is unfortunate to hear about an individual who has made millions of dollars during a lengthy show business career seek bankruptcy protection.  Hopefully Busey can recover from his financial woes and provide some stability for his 23 month old son.