Bay man sentenced for $188k rip off
A Bay of Plenty man has been sentenced to 12 months home detention and 300 hours community work after admitting tax evasion offences involving estimated losses of $188,000.
Balbir Singh, a 46-year-old kiwifruit contractor from Opotiki was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court this morning after he earlier pleading guilty to 22 tax evasion charges.
The charges relate to Singh's failure to met his PAYE and GST payment obligations between June 2009 and July 2010.
The Crown opposed home detention on the basis that because Singh was now an undischarged bankrupt and therefore the taxpayers of this country were unlikely to ever see any reparation.
Judge Peter Rollo said while the estimated loss was substantial, having regard to Singh's personal, family, cultural circumstances, his health issues, and the Court of Appeal rulings on these cases, he was satisfied home detention and community work was the appropriate deterrent sentence.
