Tawhiti firm faces closure

Property developer Shannon Tawhiti, owner of SHT Holdings Ltd, was fined $14,000 after earlier pleading guilty to moving houses on to Hastings properties without resource consent. Photo / Duncan Brown

A company controlled by Hastings property developer and house mover Shannon Tawhiti is facing liquidation over an alleged $53,000 tax bill.

Inland Revenue has applied to have We Move Houses Limited liquidated, saying the company owes just over $11,000 in outstanding GST and $42,000 in PAYE, penalties and interest.

According to Companies Office records, Mr Tawhiti is the sole director and majority shareholder of We Move Houses.

Last month another company controlled by Mr Tawhiti, SHT Holdings Ltd, was fined $14,000 after earlier pleading guilty to moving six houses on to Hastings properties without the required resource consent.

At the time, the company's lawyer told Hastings District Court it since had taken steps to prevent a repeat of the "glitch" that led to the prosecution.

SHT Holdings, trading as Relocate Homes NZ, outraged residents of Totara St, Mahora, when three houses were moved on to a section in the street without the required consent.

Two other houses were illegally moved on to two adjoining Williams St sections in Mahora, while a sixth house was moved on to a section in Flaxmere without consent. The court was told SHT had been caught out when the consents it had applied for in relation to five of the properties were not processed in the time it expected. In the case of the Flaxmere property, delays in an overnight move meant the house could not be transported to its intended destination in time and putting it on the company-owned site was the safest option.

Hastings District Council initially laid charges under the Resource Management Act against Mr Tawhiti, but later withdrew them and replaced them with a single representative charge against the company.

IRD's application to put We Move Houses into liquidation will be heard by the High Court at Napier next month. According to court documents, IRD is claiming the business has failed to pay $11,028.34 in GST and $42,016.21 in required PAYE (pay-as-you-earn employee deductions), inclusive of associated penalty and interest payments.

Mr Tawhiti said yesterday he knew nothing about the action. He has previously said his business activities, as well as providing affordable homes to dozens of families, were a significant contributor to the Hastings economy through the council development fees and charges he pays as part of his housing projects.

A Hastings District Council spokeswoman said yesterday Mr Tawhiti had no outstanding debts with council.