New Zealand First has
condemned the Solicitor-General’s reported advice to the IRD
to NOT recover dodged taxes nor to pursue prosecutions
relating to the Winebox transactions.
The Leader, Rt Hon
Winston Peters, has described the decision as “illegal and
immoral buck passing and further illustration that the rich
and powerful can dodge their taxes while the rest of us get
hounded for the last cent.
“The law clearly obliges the
IRD to collect the tax and to mount prosecutions. Now the
buck has been passed to the Serious Fraud Office which MUST
prosecute in fairness to all New Zealand taxpayers.
“There can be no other tax collector in the world that
refuses to collect taxes because it is too hard.
“Not
only must the SFO prosecute, the IRD must also collect the
outstanding taxes which amount to hundreds of millions of
dollars. I urge the Government to take the only ethical
decision available and ensure these actions are pursued,” Mr
Peters
said.
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