BANKRUPT RECEIVED WAGES AND RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28415, 23 October 1957, Page 11

BANKRUPT RECEIVED WAGES AND RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE

“Your creditors are entitled to a better account of your affai.’S. This is not a satisfactory explanation at ail.” said the Official Assignee ’Mr G. W. Brown) to Joseph Patrick Hanratty, a Post and Telegraph employee, whose meeting of creditors was held yesterday’ afternoon. Hanratty was adjudged bankrupt on October 8. The statement of affairs supplied by the bankrupt showed unsecured liabilities of £B9B 12s Id and assets of furniture valued at £3lO. The largest creditor was 1 , [the Department of Inland Revenue, which claimed £540. i Hanratty attributed his bank- | ruptcy to a long succession of

| moving expenses; losses on furniture sold when moving: his wife’s Ion" sickness: and entertainment expenses incurred while he was secretary to the Hutt Valley Returned Services’ Association. He had retired from the Public Service in March. l-'4B. and had I shifted to Christchurch from Dunedin. said Hanratty. He had sold his furniture at a loss of £3OO. Later that year he moved to Wellington and had paid rents of £5 to £6 a week. I After 18 months in a private ! firm he had been employed as secretary to the Hutt Valley’ Returned Services’ Association at <i salary of £520 a year. This had later risen to £624 and then tu £B5O. In addition to this salary, he had been paid a salary of £lOO a year as secretary of the Lower Hutt Valley Patriotic Committee, and he was in receipt of £637 a year retirement allowance from the Public Service. At present, he was employed in the Post and Telegraph Depar:ment at a salary of £765 a year, and still received his retirement allowance. Borrowed Money’ During the years he was m Wellington ’he had borrowed money’ to extricate himself from financial difficulties, said Hanratty. Not all this money had been paid back. At the end of 1956 he had been lent £54 from the Mayor's Fund at Lower Hutt to help him move to Christchurch and make a fresh start. He was at present paying £5 10s a week for an unfurnished flat. His total income was £1402 a year. He had not furnished income ’ax returns for several years and had once been fined £3l. While he was secretary to the Hutt Valley R.S.A.. £3 5s a week was deducted from his salary towards his arrears of assessed tax. Mr Brown: Can you explain why you did not furnish those

] returns? Did y’ou have anything to hide?— Hanratty: I don’t know what it is in my makeup that let me be fined £3l for not furnishing a return that eventually only took 15 minutes to complete. Hanratty said he had no other bank accounts than the one shown in his statement, and he was a gambler. He had no idea where the money’ had gone. His wife had no bank account and no assets. Mr Brown: Where have you been spending the money?—l had back debts. Whom were they’ owing to?—I can’t remember. Mr Brown: Remember you are

on oath—l had income tax deductions. Mr Brown: Only £3 5s a week You had substantial earnings and icannot account for your spendling—l had to spend a great deal ion entertaining in my position as l R.S.A. secretary, and the 30s a I week allowance was frequently spent in a night. Hanratty said he had no expensive hobbies. He was prepared to offer his creditors £25 a month. Mr Brown: That is not a large amount in view of your incoms of £l4OO. Your creditors are enl titled to a better account of your spending. This is not a satisfactory explanation at all. There was not a quorum of creditors present, and the meeting adjourned without passing any resolutions.