Rap veteran Mc Hammer is taking legal action against U.S. tax officials in a bid to block them from collecting funds for an outstanding bill he insists has already been paid.

The U Can't Touch This hitmaker, real name Stanley Burrell, was named in court papers in December (13), when authorities at the Internal Revenue Service (Irs) asked a judge for permission to garnish his earnings to settle an invoice relating to 1996 and 1997, when he and his wife Stephanie failed to submit income tax payments.

Hammer, who filed for bankruptcy in 1996, claims he fully settled the debt in 2007 by handing over a $1.4 million (£875,000) cheque to the Irs, but he has since been invoiced for another $1.4 million in tax penalties and interest relating to the same time period.

Hammer, who is adamant he has a receipt for the seven-year-old payment, has now filed papers of his own, urging a judge to help him put a stop to the tax requests by denying the Irs officials' demands for funds, reports Tmz.com.