The victim insisted on payment.
Thompson then threw him to the ground, striking him once in the right eye and kicking in the driver's door of the taxi.
A pair of prescription glasses were also damaged.
The victim received multiple fractures and underwent surgery in April to repair badly damaged nerves.
Judge Broughton said those injuries would take 18 months to heal.
She said the victim was unable to drive and had not gone back to work.
His wife had accepted a job up north and the couple had moved out of Palmerston North.
The victim impact statement said the man struggled to sleep at night and his wife was too fearful to allow him to return to work as a taxi driver.
Thompson had chosen to move to Dannevirke to get away from any antisocial behaviour and was highly motivated to change his ways.
His solicitor, Lisa Grant, told the judge he was keen to attend a residential programme.
He was sentenced to home detention for two months and told to abstain from alcohol and any non-prescription drugs.
He also was required to pay reparation of $300.
He will be subject to conditions over six months and would be supported to attend a rehabilitation programme.