The Auckland mortgage broker has been sentenced to over three years in prison
Auckland mortgage broker David Simon Barton is facing three years and two months in jail for evading income tax for over ten years, according to Inland Revenue.
Barton was sentenced in the Waitakere District Court on 10 charges of failing to submit an income tax return for the purpose of income tax evasion, one for each of the tax years between 2008 – 2017.
Inland Revenue spokesperson Tony Morris said every self-employed individual is aware of their duty to file an income tax return, and that Barton had deliberately avoided this obligation.
“Our audit uncovered regular deposits into his bank account for the mortgage broking or consultancy services he was providing, so it was clear that his business was profitable,” said Morris. “Taxpayers can’t just choose to remove themselves from the tax system. We all have a responsibility to pay our fair share towards society’s essential services.”
Barton ran Park Avenue Mortgage Brokers from 1995, and was sentenced to four years’ jail in 2000 for defrauding a number of pensioners and other investors of approximately $1 million. He had lost a significant chunk of money through gambling addiction and failed investments, and defence lawyer Gary Gottlieb described him as “out of control.”
According to Morris, Barton had registered for income tax but had not paid it for any of the years that he was in business. He evaded an estimated $400,000 of taxes over ten years.
“Barton was fully aware of his tax obligations,” said Morris. “We made several attempts to try to help him get back on track, but he simply wasn’t interested in doing the right thing.
“His offending amounts to straight out theft of taxpayers’ money and shows a blatant disregard for one of the key responsibilities of running a business – filing an income tax return.”
