2005 media releases
Tauranga man jailed for horticultural tax evasion
8 July 2005
A 26 year-old company director has been sentenced today in the Tauranga District Court to two-and-a-half years jail for tax evasion.
Mohammad Ataur Rahman, the director of several horticulture contracting companies in the Tauranga area, received the jail term after earlier pleading guilty to two charges of tax evasion totaling over $260,000.
Mr Rahman arrived in New Zealand in 2001 and set up several companies, one of which was struck off the company register in 2004 for failing to file annual returns. All the companies set up by Mr Rahman were used to falsify invoices and evade GST and PAYE payments.
Inland Revenue Hamilton Service Centre Manager Kevin Moody says the prison sentence is a reminder that the courts take a firm position on tax evasion.
"People cannot evade taxes and expect to get away with it," says Mr Moody. "Those who deliberately flout the law are a small minority but Inland Revenue is dedicated to tackling tax evasion."
Mr Moody encourages people who haven't been meeting their tax obligations to get their affairs in order by contacting Inland Revenue as early as possible.
"There are penalties for unpaid tax, but these can be reduced significantly through talking to us," he says.
Other media releases this year
- Tip-off leads to jail sentence for dishonest tax agent
- Family assistance payments to be available early
- Inland Revenue releases new tax rules for people who host boarders
- GST fraud gets jail sentence for Auckland property developer
- Inland Revenue seeks owners of forgotten money
- Family Assistance Payments to be made early
- High Wealth programme brings in millions of extra tax dollars
- Identity theft, fraud lead to jail for Palmerston North man
- Reimbursement for the use of a private motor vehicle
- Hamilton man sentenced on tax fraud
- Auckland consultant gets 12 months in jail for GST fraud
- Inland Revenue signs Hewlett Packard to supply Notebook Computers
- New Zealand and Australian tax help for business
- Salary and wage earners: are you entitled to a tax refund?
- Some seasonal workers entitled to tax refunds
- Auckland barrister jailed for tax evasion
- Inland Revenue reminding Marlborough agriculturalists
- Inland Revenue Appoints Chief Information Officer (IT)
- Incident at Upper Hutt Processing Centre
- Forged GST claim leads to eight-month prison sentence
- Inland Revenue offers help to flood affected BOP businesses
- Auckland Man jailed for tax fraud
- Inland Revenue releases view on HHG capital reduction proposals
- Prison sentence for tax evasion
- Early Family Assistance Payments
- Nine years of tax evasion brings 18 month sentence for New Plymouth bricklayer
- Tax season now underway
- Are you eligible for a childcare rebate?
- Early Family Assistance Payments
- Inland Revenue signs agreement with TelstraClear
- Inland Revenue cautions against income splitting by professionals
- Inland Revenue welcomes sentence for Hamilton PAYE offence
- Cambridge students scoop national award for tax knowledge
- US, NZ agree on tax treatment of fiscally transparent entities
- 7 February payment deadline
- Theft of Westpac courier bag - advice to taxpayers and other Inland Revenue customers
- Inland Revenue not letting up on BoP tax evasion
- Inland Revenue outlines rebate claim process for tsunami donations
- Inland Revenue welcomes sentence in $40,000 evasion case
Corporate Affairs
Inland Revenue
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Date published: 08 Jul 2005
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