FINED £192 10s ON TEN TAX CHARGES

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29802, 19 April 1962, Page 8

FINED £192 10s ON TEN TAX CHARGES

Russell Denton BuMivanL a factory manager, was fined £192 10s on tax charges by Mr H. Rosen, in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Bttllivant pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of wilfully making false returns of income between 1947 and 1956. The income alleged by the Crown not to have been disclosed was said to have been earned in dealings with cars, boats, and other items. For the 1947 offence, Bullivent was fined £2O, for each of the 1948, 1949, and 1950 offences £25, for the 1951 offence £l7 10s, for the 1952 offence £2O, for the 1953 offence £5, for each of 1954 and 1955 offences £l5, and for the 1956 offence £25. Mr C. M. Roper appeared for the Inland Revenue Department, and Mr R. W. Edgely for Bullivanit. Thomas Gilbert Mackay, an officer of the Inland Revenue Department, said that the defendant was the factory manager of H. W. Bullivarat, Ltd., a firm of printers, and also a shareholder in the firm.

Giving evidence of his examination of books and papers concerned with the defendant’s affairs, the witness said that the defendant had bought and sold various commodities, cars, tyres, and later boats. The defendant objected, however, to being called a dealer, although he had remarked he had a flair for buying and selling. The witness said that in the 10 years in question the defendant had returned his income as £9047, but investigation showed an income of £12,794. The deficiency in tax was £829 6s 2d. Edith Lillian Millar, the defendant’s mother-in-law, said she passed money to the defendant to keep for her. Over the years she gave him £ll5O, of which he was still holding £l3O. The defendant in evidence said he had kept Mrs Millar’s money for her, in all £1165 by his calculation. He still had £l5O. Mrs Millar had used some of the money to -buy a house. He felt the department had

greatly overestimated the coat and value of many of his nosseasions. “I have never tried to avoid taxation,” the defendant said. Mr Edgely submitted it was not a case in which there were false records or any element of wilful dishonesty. The Court must accept that Mrs Millar had handed substantial amounts of money to the defendant. It would be very dangerous for the Court to convict, upon the evidence. In the absence of proper records the defendant’s income was assessed by the increase in assets Over the years in question, said the Magistrate. After the defendant's income had been assessed the department had made certain adjustments, one of the most important being a reduction in the estimate of cost of living. There had been other reduction in a case stated and previously heard before the Court. He considered the defendant knew the figures he returned in any one year could not be correct or anything like it, and he intended to convict, the Magistrate said.