Man ejected from court in tax trial

Andrew Karl called kaumatua Taite Renata to give evidence in the Whangarei District Court yesterday. Photo / John Stone

A Maori council gave authority to manage its accounts and tax obligations to one of three Northlanders charged with failing to pay more than $800,000 in taxes, a jury has heard.

Andrew Karl called kaumatua Taite Renata to give evidence in the Whangarei District Court yesterday in a case brought against him and two others by the Inland Revenue Department.

Karl, 43, Carol Karl, 51, and Timothy Meredith, 46, are accused of failing to pay GST and income tax between April 2006 and April 2015.

They traded under the name Nga Uri o Tupoto which, according to the Inland Revenue Department, received just over $3.6 million into its bank account during the period they allegedly did not pay their taxes.

Mr Renata told the jury all three supported the hapu and Meredith helped hapu members by taking them to their appointments.

He said Nga Uri o Tupoto's bank account was run by Meredith who called himself the registrar.

Under cross examination by Crown solicitor Mike Smith who asked whether Mr Renata knew how much money had gone through that bank account, the kaumatua said the authority in respect of finances rested with Meredith and he played no part in the taxation process.

At the end of his evidence, a man sitting in the public gallery had to be ejected by court security after he attempted to speak.

Judge Keith de Ridder advised him he could not speak and told him to either sit down or be taken out of court.

The man continued to interject, saying he was the power of attorney for the three defendants. After he was taken out, Judge de Ridder cautioned the jury not to draw any adverse inferences from the man's misbehaviour and to concentrate on their task.

Carol Karl requested if the court could be adjourned for the rest of the day because Meredith needed to seek medical attention.

Judge de Ridder said he had not seen any evidence of Meredith's ill-health and queried why the matter was not raised earlier. On Wednesday, Meredith fainted outside the courtroom and had to be attended to by St John paramedics.