A Maungatapu man who admitted just over $50,000 of tax evasion offences has been jailed for a year.
Kiri Haggie, 55, who earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of tax evasion, one count of making a false statement and two counts of failing to furnish tax returns, was sentenced in TaurangaDistrict Court yesterday.
He was also ordered to pay $50,394 in reparation to Inland Revenue.
The offences were committed over five tax years between April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2011 while Haggie was operating a painting and plastering business, with $50,394 of PAYE and GST being evaded. Haggie, who was adjudicated bankrupt in 2006, initially denied the charges.
His lawyer, Glenn Barnett, said Haggie got into financial difficulties and when Inland Revenue contacted him, he effectively "buried his head in the sand", which was compounded by his low level of literacy.
Community detention and home-detention sentences would be difficult for Haggie to comply with due to the rural nature of the proposed detention address, and he would not be able to do community work because of transport difficulties, Mr Barnett said.
Mr Barnett said Haggie accepted imprisonment was the only option at this stage, but sought leave to apply to substitute his jail sentence with home detention if an alternative address became available.
Judge Bidois said he was prepared to grant Haggie leave to apply for home detention, but whether it was granted was a decision for the judge on the day.
