Coyle family shells out $160k for pub’s back tax

It was one huge bar bill, but singer Nadine Coyle and her family finally paid it off, shelling out more than $160,000 (€115,000) to cover property taxes dating back more than five years.

And it was just in time, as the deadline was looming for when tax collectors could move to place on the auction list the bar and restaurant, Nadine’s Irish Mist.

The company that owns the Sunset Beach bar, Charnarae, headed by Nadine’s father Niall, had not paid any taxes since taking it over in 2008.

But records kept in Orange County reveal two payments were made since the end of March, one for around $20,000 for the present tax year, and another for a staggering $140,000, owed for previous years.

While California has reasonably lenient rules over non-payment — its agencies do not move against owners for some time — but failure to pay on time is hugely expensive. The records show that of the total amount paid, over $50,000 were penalties.

Nadine, the former Girls Aloud singer, and her father Niall, who runs the bar with other family members, bought what was then a run-down premises in 2008.

A substantial amount of money was spent on its refurbishment ahead of the opening on St Patrick’s Day 2009.

Nadine has been intimately involved with the operation from the start, including putting up the bulk of the money to buy the property, now valued for tax purposes at $1.6m.

The singer was reported to own other businesses in the US, in Florida and California, but there are no records linking her to any other.

While the bar appears to be successful and has received excellent reviews in the media and on social media in Orange County, questions have been repeatedly asked over the failure to pay any taxes.

Mr Coyle was not available for comment, but in the past has refused to talk about the tax issues.