Sentencing — evading assessment or payment of tax — tax evasion — tax fraud — aiding and abetting — Tax Administration Act 1994 — Inland Revenue Department v Lasek [2018] NZDC 7473 — Mehmood v CIR [2015] NZCA 338 — Chahil v R [2020] NZCA 436 — Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Mills [2018] NZDC 2274 — Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Cree [2019] NZDC 1475 — Department of Inland Revenue v Kumar [2018] NZDC 24405. The defendant appeared for sentence, having pleaded guilty to 66 charges of evading or attempting to evade assessment of payment of tax, and two charges of aiding and abetting a company to knowingly apply or permit the application of the amount of a deduction or withholding of tax made or deemed under a tax law for any purpose other than in payment to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue. The defendant was the sole director and shareholder of a company which supplied labour to the construction industry. In this role the defendant failed to file monthly employer schedules and failed to account for tax and other deductions payable. The offending occurred over a seven-year period and amounted to a total of $1,864,007.14 in evaded tax. Funds were diverted to various other parties. In considering a starting point for sentence, the Court considered the seriousness of the offending and the defendant's culpability. The aggravating features of the offending were the monetary amount, period of offending, breach of trust as an employer, and breaching the trust of the wider community. There were no mitigating features. Taking into consideration relevant case law, the Court set a starting point of four years and six months' imprisonment. Discounts were given for an early guilty plea, the fact that some of the offending was premised on helping out family members, giving Pasifika people employment and reparation already paid. The end sentence was one of 27 months' imprisonment. Judgment Date: 12 May 2022.