Pregnant Auckland lawyer jailed for 2 1/2 years

An Auckland lawyer, pregnant with her third child, has been jailed for 2 1/2 years for tax evasion and stealing from clients.

Kathryn Louise Webber, 41, had pleaded guilty to 18 charges of using a document to evade income tax and GST on almost $1.2 million.

She also pleaded guilty to seven charges of misappropriating $46,450 from her clients.

The charges followed an IRD investigation.

IRD's Auckland North service centre manager, Richard Philp, said the sentence reflected the severity of the offending.

"This was a deliberate attempt to defraud the revenue by someone who holds a position of trust within the community and it is something the courts take seriously," he said.

Between 1994 and 2004 Webber ran a sole legal practice specialising in property conveyancing in Albany.

An IRD probe of Webber's personal bank accounts revealed unexplained deposits between 1997 and 2002 of about $660,000.

The money came from her legal practice but was not included in her income tax and GST returns.

Webber, who appeared in the North Shore District Court yesterday, was sentenced by Judge Mark Perkins. She was represented by Geoff Clews.

Mr Philp said IRD had specialist staff working on uncovering tax evasion and he encouraged anyone who had not been meeting their tax obligations to do so.

Penalties could be reduced through voluntary disclosure.