Short Takes : Willie Nelson’s Ranch Is Sold

Willie Nelson can knock $203,840 off his $16.7-million tax bill after the Internal Revenue Service sold his ranch house and 44-acre spread at Dripping Springs.

The property brought one bid--at the minimum amount required--at an IRS auction Tuesday, officials said. It was among assets in several states the IRS seized in November to help pay the singer-songwriter’s delinquent taxes and penalties.

Nelson’s 44-acre ranch at the foot of Mt. Evans outside Denver was to be sold today at another IRS auction.

In a interview to be broadcast Friday on the syndicated television series “Personalities,” Nelson described the lost properties as “just things, nothing that can’t be replaced.”

Nelson has blamed his financial problems on the Price Waterhouse accounting firm and has sued it for $15 million. The firm denies blame.