Real estate agent admits tax evasion

A Wellington real estate agent has been sentenced to home detention after she admitted avoiding paying tax of almost a quarter of a million dollars. File photo / NZ Herald

A Wellington real estate agent has been sentenced to eight months home detention and 250 hours community service for tax evasion, involving $222,777.

Catherine Mary Foot, known as Kate Foot, was sentenced today in Lower Hutt District Court after admitting nine charges of aiding her companies to evade tax on property transactions, one charge of aiding a company to not file a tax return, and two charges of providing false information to Inland Revenue regarding her ability to pay tax arrears.

Foot, 50, used money owed to Inland Revenue to fund overseas travel.

In March, Foot's partner, Michael Edwin Kooiman, admitted 77 charges of aiding his companies to evade tax of $1.4 million and was sentenced to 12 months home detention and 350 hours community service.

Inland Revenue assurance manager, investigations, Patrick Goggin said Foot's companies consistently filed tax returns late, or not at all, and failed to pay income tax and GST between 2000 and 2005.

"Ms Foot undertook property transactions through three different companies, Martini Investments Limited, Puka Investments Limited and JW Investments Limited involving renovation work, subdividing land and the sale of properties," Mr Goggin said.

"These companies often received substantial GST refunds from Inland Revenue yet no payment was made for what these entities owed."

One transaction involved Foot fraudulently entering a sale of a property to enable a company controlled by her de facto partner to obtain a substantial GST refund.

The sale was not completed and the refund was not repaid to Inland Revenue.

"Ms Foot supplied false or incomplete information in her bids to claim for financial assistance. She has now said she has no ability to make reparation payments," Mr Goggin said.

Foot was not only cheating taxpayers, but was getting an unfair advantage over other businesses and agents in the real estate sector that played by the rules, he said.

- NZPA