Don’t under estimate the IRD

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Property investors beware: Inland Revenue has the investigative powers to track down and nab deliberate or inadvertent tax evaders – and they will use them forcefully.

Auckland’s former Heart of the City boss Alex Swney was yesterday sentenced to five years, seven months in jail – after being caught out for over a decade of financial offending.

Once one of the SuperCity’s high-profile representatives, Swney failed to pay over $1.8 million in tax to Inland Revenue (IRD).
And it was the IRD, along with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), that uncovered Swney’s offending and pursued him for it.
Swney’s conviction might seem to have little relevance to the area of property investment.

But the post-verdict words of Inland Revenue Group Tax Counsel Graham Tubb were a public warning to all those trying to evade their tax obligations.

He said New Zealanders can be confident that people like Swney, who try to cheat their system and not pay their fair share of tax, will be caught by IRD’s investigators.

“The IRD has effective systems and tools for detecting tax evasion, and will continue to develop its capabilities to identify and combat those who try to cheat the tax system.”