The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal has dismissed a taxpayer’s appeal against the severity of the sentence handed down by the NSW District Court concerning his lodgment of false BASs claiming GST refunds of just over $500,000.
The District Court (Flannery DCJ) found that between 9 July 2004 and 4 January 2006, the taxpayer lodged 27 BASs on behalf of 3 companies of which he was the sole director and shareholder and on behalf of himself personally in which he falsely claimed GST refunds to which he was not entitled. The BASs were based on a claimed total business expenditure of $6.7m reported for 4 of his businesses. The Court said the figure “was a complete fabrication, as the nominated entities were not engaged in any trading”. The taxpayer claimed total GST refunds of $540,898. He received $380,724 relating to counts 1 to 4 on the indictment. Four claims totalling id=”mce_marker”60,174 were stopped before any payment was made.
The taxpayer pleaded guilty to 4 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial benefit by deception contrary to s 134.2 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). On 30 March 2012, he was sentenced by Flannery DCJ to a total head sentence of imprisonment for 4 years and 3 months commencing on 30 March 2012 and expiring on 29 June 2016 with a non-parole period of 2 years and 2 months expiring on 29 May 2014.
The Taxpayer appealed against the severity of the sentence. He claimed that his case involved “exceptional and very special circumstances” and that “a custodial sentence when considering all the circumstances is unjust and unsafe”. The Court of Criminal Appeal disagreed and upheld the sentence that had been imposed.
(Edwards v R [2013] NSWCCA 54, NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, Johnson, Harrison and Adamson JJ, 13 March 2013.)
[LTN 52, 18/3/13]