The
Court of Appeal has dismissed challenges to search warrants obtained by Inland
Revenue for access to private homes of people behind the Honk Group of
companies. Tax investigations allege tax
avoidance and false tax returns.
Inland Revenue must
get a search warrant before entering the private home of any taxpayer. Warrants were obtained to search the homes of
David Andrew Tauber and Paul Nigel Webb, entrepreneurs behind the Honk group of
companies and also the home of Maree Anne Bockett, a chartered accountant
acting as tax agent for the Honk group through her company MB Accountants Ltd.
They argued the
warrants were invalid because Inland Revenue had “over-egged the pudding” when
applying for the warrants by presenting misleading information and overstating
any alleged wrongdoing by the taxpayers.
The Court ruled that even if such flawed information was stripped out of
the warrant application there were still grounds for issuing the search
warrants.
The Court was told the
tax investigation has been underway since 2008.
There had been extensive delays in providing information requested by
Inland Revenue. There were doubts as to
the completeness of information provided.
Inland Revenue was
running up against statutory deadlines for issuing tax assessments and
suspected the taxpayers were exploiting delays as a deliberate strategy.
Files seized had been
embargoed while validity of the search warrants was argued in court. The Court of Appeal ruled that Inland Revenue
could use the information seized. Honk
Airport Trustees Ltd and Honk Land Trustees Ltd, two companies in the Honk
group, are already involved in disputes before the Taxation Review
Authority. Inland Revenue said it took
special care in both planning the investigation and carrying out the search and
seizure to ensure it did not take any documents relevant to this litigation.
Tauber
v. Inland Revenue – Court of Appeal (7.09.12)
12.042