A Wellington air conditioning installer was sentenced to community detention on tax fraud charges.  

David Wayne Field was sentenced in the Hutt Valley District Court on September 24 on 15 charges of knowingly filing false and misleading GST returns, not filing income tax and GST returns and failing to apply for registration for GST. 

Field was self-employed and involved in a number of business activities including installation and maintenance of air conditioning units operating under the name Kiwi Chill. He also drove a taxi and has a rental property. 

Taxpayers outside the system 

Inland Revenue started an investigation into Field as part of a regular Hidden Economy compliance programme to identify and review persons and businesses that may be operating outside of the tax system.  

This area of focus can include reviews of customers who may not be aware they have exceeded the threshold for GST registration, or may have intentionally only reported one or more sources of income but have another source of income that they do not disclose to IR. They may also be intentionally operating outside of the tax system and may have also been previously warned by IR and are still electing not to comply.  

Inland Revenue’s aim is to identify customers operating outside the tax system, totally or partially, and return them to the system with their tax obligations sorted.  

Outside the system customers are already included in a range of other existing HE network initiatives such as:
• Crypto
• Horticulture
• Construction. 

Inland Revenue uses a range of data and information such as Wage Subsidy Scheme and property data to help find those outside the system.  

The Field case facts 

Field applied the Ministry of Social Development for the Covid-19 Wage Subsidy. Information on Inland Revenue’s system showed he was self-employed, however he had a significant number of outstanding income tax and GST Returns. 

In November 2019 Field filed 7 false and misleading GST returns; Between March 2017 and 2022 he didn’t file income tax returns; and between January 2020 and March 2022 he didn’t file GST returns. All that was to evade the assessment and payment of tax. 

In March 2021 he was given an extension of time to sort his outstanding tax obligations. He filed one outstanding GST return but then reverted to not filing GST returns.  

Between 1 April 2016 – 1 July 2018, Field was not registered for GST. Even so, Kiwi Chill regularly issued customers with “Tax Invoices” showing a GST registration number which was Field’s personal IRD number. 

The 7 NIL GST returns Field filed for the periods September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2019 for the company Aircon and Refrigeration Services Limited were false. 

In January 2024, the Defendant filed all the outstanding income tax and GST returns and filed amended GST returns for the 7 periods he had previously filed NIL returns for. 

Total fraud 

The total fraud amounts to $249,747.04 which Field has now paid.  

He was sentenced to three months community detention with a 7pm to 7am curfew.

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