Auckland builder admits 121 tax evasion charges

An Auckland builder has been sentenced to 10 months home detention and 400 hours community work after admitting 121 charges of tax evasion and fraud involving just under $235,000.

Phillip Noel Pedlar, 57, was sentenced on Monday in the Waitakere District Court on 19 charges of failing to account for GST, 19 charges of failing to file GST returns, three charges of failing to account for PAYE, four charges of failing to file PAYE returns, 33 charges of failing to pay withholding tax, 33 charges of failing to file withholding tax returns, and ten charges of false invoicing.

Although Pedlar deducted withholding tax from his employees, he deliberately withheld money from Inland Revenue and consistently failed to file his returns between March 2006 and November 2008, said Jonathan Matthews, IRD investigations manager.

"Mr Pedlar came to our attention when one of his employees inquired as to why PAYE had not been registered in his personal Inland Revenue account despite being paid by the defendant for work he had undertaken.

"Inland Revenue began an audit of Mr Pedlar's businesses and found he was trading under the name of a company that did not exist," Mr Matthews said outside court.

Further investigation found that Pedlar had also used a bank account, set up for him under a different name, to hide money he received from various sources as payment for work. Inland Revenue also found that he had issued tax invoices using two different IRD numbers, including someone else's.

"Mr Pedlar had a good understanding of how GST and PAYE worked," said Mr Matthews.

"However, rather than find a solution to his debt issues, he tried to cheat the system by using an unregistered company name and someone else's bank account to withhold money from Inland Revenue and to pay personal expenses. As a result of his actions, Mr Pedlar ended up in court," he added.

- NZPA