Prince, the pint-sized pop star, appears to have blown a raspberry beret at the French tax authorities.

The news emerged after the business manager for Prince Rogers Nelson, the recording artist known as Prince, said her client will respond to a request from the US IRS for tax information.

The manager, Debra Whelan, said that until the inquiry was disclosed in the press, she was unaware of a 'routine request' from the IRS claiming Prince had failed to comply with a summons issued on behalf of French tax authorities.

'The IRS had incorrect information for service and left the notice at an address of record,' Whelan said in the statement. 'Now that the matter has been brought to our attention, we will promptly respond and provide the requested information.'

Bloomberg reports that the IRS asked the 1999 and Purple Rain singer to appear in response to an inquiry from its French counterpart 'to examine the French income tax liability of Mr Prince Rogers Nelson for tax years 2009 and 2010,' according to court documents filed in his home city of Minneapolis.

The IRS said Prince had yet to respond. The petition asks the court to enforce the summons. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for 18 October.

The French government lodged its request in July 2011 in a letter listing several concerts it believed Prince had played in France during the two years at question and asking for additional documentation about the relationship between the artist and the production and recording company Paisley Park Enterprises Inc.