This marks the launch of the Justice for Burt Reynolds campaign.

The actor has been named as a target of California's Franchise Tax Board, whom he allegedly owes $225,000.

We here at Taxation - okay, just me - say boo to the state's demand for recompense.

And we - all right, just me again - give three reasons for our - or rather, my - stance:

1. Burt's 'people' say he paid off his tax debts years ago - and who are we to say otherwise?

2. He starred in Deliverance, Boogie Nights, Hustle (the excellent Robert Aldrich flick, not the woeful BBC drama), the original version of The Longest Yard (let's ignore his appearance in the ropey remake) - and, yeah, Smokey and the Bandit, which was rubbish, but the car was cool and it had a young Sally Field in the passenger seat.

3. Twenty five grand is a pittance - a laughable pittance, I say! - when compared to the $2.1 million that grandmistress of soul Dionne Warwick has yet to cough up in back taxes.

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