MAXIMUM PENALTY

Evening Star, Issue 19550, 7 May 1927, Page 2

MAXIMUM PENALTY

EVASION OF INCOME TAX IPs? United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, May 6. What Mr Tudhope, fif the Crown, . . said was the most glaring case he had i. dealt with came before Mr W. 6. Riddell, S.M., when Edward Reuben Ben- ; jamxn Holben, of Palmerston North, ad- . nutted having unlawfully made false . income tax returns for the five years , ended March 31. 1926. The income re- - turned was £3,658 instead of £23,638, and the .tax paid was £33 when it should have been £2,755. Only five informations were laid because of the statutory limitations. Trading as Messrs Holben and Kirk, said Mr Tudhope, the defendant was in ... a large way of business as_ an importer and manufacturer and dairy engineer. 'Ho "bought out Hs partner (Kirk) in 1819, and from that time he seemed deliberately to have set out to evade paying income tax. Counsel wished it to be distinctly understood that Kirk ' was in no way connected withthe matter... He mentioned that an investigation further back showed that in the two years preceding 1922 the defendant’s income was under-stated by '. about £2,000. Since 1922 the defen- ’: dant had deducted £5,900 from his income by attributing large stuns to the payment of petitions workmen. Mr Cooper, for the defendant, said . he had placed large sums, in his reserve .‘ account to meet anticipated liabilities “ and regarded this as a trust fund. Mr Riddell said there, must have been deliberate evasion. . He imposed the maximum. penalty of £IOO on each of five charts, and ypets .*£lo 10s) were