FINES Or £400 IMPOSED

Taranaki Daily News, 11 July 1933, Page 9

FINES Or £400 IMPOSED

SYDNEY DOCTOR’S INCOME • - - • ■ ■■ ■ ■ ■■■. > . ATTEMPT TO EVADE TAXES. CONVICTION ON TWO CHARGES. Dr. Robert Vivian Storer, of Macquarie Street, Sydney, was fined £4OO, with £3 costs, at the Sydney Police Court, recently for wilfully attempting to avoid State taxation by under-stating the amount of his gross income by £2305 in 1929-30 and by £lBl5 in 1930-31. The Taxation Department alleged that the amounts of State tax evaded were £293 and £ll5 in the respective years. John Rook, an officer in the Taxation Department, produced income-tax returns of defendant for the yeans ended June, 1930 and 1931. The return for the former year showed income from professional vocation as £2305 gross, and for the other year £1751. The return for 1930 showed a net income of £l2O for State purposes. No income tax would be payable on that amount, but defendant would be liable for unemployment relief tax of £7 Bs. 2d. For 1931 the net amount of income shown was £202 and the only payment under this would be £l7 9s. for unemployment relief tex. There was not an arbitrary assessment in respect of 1931, but for 1930 an arbitrary assessment was issued based on a net income of £lOOO for State income tax and £lll3 for unemployment relief tax. A chartered accountant said he examined Dr. Storer’s books in the interest of a prospective purchaser of his practice. He asked for his : income tax returns, and when he pointed out that they did not agree with the bank pass-book Dr. Storer said, in effect, that he could not afford to show everything in his returns. Witness was able to say that the professional fees collected by,.Dr. Storer up to the end of June, 1930, amounted to £5366 and for 1931 £3566. STATEMENT BY DEFENDANT. Defendant, in evidence, explained his method of recording the history of patients and their : ailments, and the fees paid by them. He obtained his figures for the making of -his returns from these cards, and in that way arrived at the gross total. He had between-100 and 150 patients. Storer said that in 1929-30 he saw 260 patients and received £2305 4s. 3d. in fees, including £261 from patients seen during the previous year. He- furnished a return for this amount. In 1930-31? he received £1751 18s.- in fees and furnished -an income-tax return accordingly. This amount included about £4OO paid by patients seen during. 1929-30. A large proportion of his, income came from betting transactions. He-also received £2OO from Dr. Smithers and cheques from his father and wife, which he-did not regard as taxable income. He paid many personal expenses from his betting wins.. In exceptional cases he had charged patients £lO 10s. a week for treatment, but the average- charge was £2 2s. a week, He denied that his taxable income was £5366 in 1929-30 and £3566 in the following year. EVIDENCE OF A BOOKMAKER. , In cross-examination defendant, said he had kept- a loose-leaf ledger, showing fees received by him from July 1, 1931, until September 30; 1931. These totalled £437 14s. for the three months, and showed 'an income at the rate of £1751 a year. He had furnished his income-tax return about this time, showing an income of. £1751 for. 1930-31. Lionel Bloom, a registered bookmaker, said that since 1929 Dr. Storer had been a regular attendant at the big race meetings and had had betting transactions with him and: other bookmakers. v His average bet would be £8 or £lO. He had collected up to £6O or £7O. In the first case, relating to 1929-30, Dr. Storer was fined £l5O, with a fine of £5O on the • tax evaded, and £2 10s. costs, a total of £202 10s., in default 405 , days’ imprisonment. In the second case, relating to 1930-31, Dr. Storer was fined £l5O, with a fine of £5O on trie tax evaded, and 10s. costs, a total of £2OO 10s., in default 401 days. He was allowed one month to pay.