An Auckland woman who ran a business supplying workers to harvest fruit and vegetables for growers was sentenced to home detention for close to $1.5 million in tax evasion.
Haitelenisia Kaumaevae appeared for sentencing in the Pukekohe District Court on September 23 after pleading guilty to four representative charges of tax evasion for aiding and abetting the company M&H Kaumavae Ltd.
Based on returns filed by defence counsel in November last year, Kaumavae evaded $1,487,359 in GST, PAYE, and income tax.
Inland Revenue (IR) said the case was a “wilful example” of repeated fraud, depriving the wider public of a substantial sum of money.
The offending was “repetitive and premeditated”, IR added, with income tax returns not filed in for consecutive years, GST returns either not filed or false returns over a three-year period, and PAYE returns not filed over a 40-month period.
Reviewing bank accounts showed that invoices were issued by M&H to growers which charged for the labour of others, included a deduction of 15% withholding tax, and were inclusive of GST.
The Judge acknowledged that while it was “undoubtedly serious offending”, Kaumavae gained no personal profit due to cultural obligations.
Kaumavae was sentenced to nine months’ home detention with six months’ post-detention conditions and reparation of $6500 at a weekly rate to be set by the registrar.
