FINES TOTAL £375

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 227, 24 September 1943, Page 4

FINES TOTAL £375

SALES TAX EVADED

OFFENCES BY WINEMAKER?

Fines totalling £375 were imposed upon Henderson wine makers in the Magistrate's Court to-day by Mr. J. Morling, S.M., for making false returns with the intention of evading payment of sales tax. Mr. S. Cleal appeared for the prosecution. Maud Devich, married woman (Mr. Mackay) pleaded guilty to two charges. Mr. Cleal said that the salestax Tipon New Zealand wine was originally 10 per cent, then increased to 20 per cent, and in 1942 to 40 per cent. An examination of the defend-

ant's books failed to show many sales which the inspectors knew had been made. Considerable business was done in sales of wines in small quantities, for which payment was made in cash, and it was very difficult to trace such transactions. False returns were made for the purpose of evading the sales tax. When questioned by the inspectors, the defendant said that what she had done was done at the request of an individual connected with a certain wine company. The amount of tax which it had been attempted to evade payment of was £245 7/6.

Mr. Mackay said the sales involved were really made to the representative of the wine company through defendant's husband. Payment had been made in cash, upon which no sales tax had been paid. Defendant did not take long to realise the position she had got into and told the company's representative there would be no more sales of wine unless the sales tax was paid. Defendant had made no extra profit and had been led into the transactions at the suggestion of somebody else. Counsel submitted it was an isolated case and not one for a heavy penalty.

Mr. Cleal said the maximum penalty was £100 and the minimum £25. Mr. Morling said defendant appeared to have fallen to the temptation offered by somebody else. She would still have to pay the tax. Frauds in connection with sales tax were hard to detect, and defendant would be fined £25 on each of the two charges. Mick Ivicevich (Mr. Haigh) pleaded guilty to one charge, and Mr. Cleal stated that the amount of tax defendant had attempted to evade payment of was £64. Mr. Haigh said that 500 gallons of wine had been sold to an Auckland hotel and sales tax paid on 300 gallons, but not on the balance of 200 gallons. The reason for this was because there were further negotiations, but these had fallen through, and in that way the 200 gallons had not been entered up.

Defendant was fined £25. Joseph Balich (Mr. Dickson) admitted four charges, and Mr. Cleal said the total amount defendant had attempted to evade payment of was £462. One month defendant's books showed sales amounting to £19, whereas the actual sales were £711. Mr. Dickson said that not one of the returns sent in had been signed by defendant, but by his daughter, a young girl, and the offences were to a great extent due to muddlement. Counsel was convinced the amounts would be considerably less than stated by the prosecution. Mr. Morling said there was no excuse. The effect of the muddlement was that defendant had evaded payment of a substantial amount of tax. He would be fined £25 on each of the four charges. On each •of four charges Bental Soljan (Mr. Prendergast) was fined £25, and on each of two charges Paul Soljan, his son, was fined £25. Mr. Prendergast said unfortunately a buyer had put up a scheme whereby the defendants would lose nothing, but the buyer would benefit by not paying sales tax and the defendants had foolishly fallen in with it. Joseph Babich and Robert Papa (Mr. Uren) for making a false application for exe'mption were each fined £25. Babich had attempted to evadp payment of £56 in tax, and Papa of £84.