AG v Pires

• Jurisdiction: Jersey
• Court: Royal Court
• Judge: The Deputy Bailiff
• Judgment Date: 25 January 2008
• Neutral Citation: [2008] JRC 11
• Date: 25 January 2008

[2008] JRC 11

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

Before:

M. C. St. J. Birt, Esq., Deputy Bailiff, and Jurats Le Breton and Allo.

The Attorney General

and

Joao De Jesus Pires

C. M. M. Yates Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate S. M. Baker for the Defendant.

No Authorities

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, following a guilty plea to the following charges:

14 counts of: Contravention of Article 137(1)(a) of the Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961 by fraudulently delivering to the Comptroller of Income Tax a statement required by Article 16 of the Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961.

Age : 55.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

The defendant is the beneficial owner and co-director (with his wife) of a Company which owns and rents out a property comprising of 2 flats and a maisonette.

Over a 15 year period he systematically failed to declare the complete extent of the income derived from the property to the Comptroller of Income Tax. The defendant delivered to the Comptroller annual financial statements stating that the property produced a weekly rental income of £100 from each of the two flats and £130 from the maisonette. These statements were relied upon by the Comptroller for the purpose of assessing annual tax liabilities.

Following an enquiry into the letting of the property, signed statements from the tenants, confirming the rents to be £100 and £130 respectively, were submitted by the defendant. During a meeting with the Income Tax authorities, the defendant again confirmed those rents and stated that they had not been increased for some years.

However, when the tenants were spoken to, they explained that the content of their letters was false, and that they had been written by the defendant who had directed them to sign them. At this stage, the defendant admitted his fraud and provided the Income Tax authorities with details of the rental income he actually received from the property over the stated period. The defendant admitted preparing letters and asking his tenants to sign them, knowing them to be fraudulent statements.

Overall the defendant failed to declare income in the amount of £139,500 between 1990 and 2004 inclusive and escaped tax liability for £25,110.

Details of Mitigation:

Guilty plea entered at earliest opportunity, remorse, embarrassment, good character, very hard working man, and good references.

Previous Convictions:

2 previous convictions for 3 motoring offences.

Conclusions:

Count 1: £950 fine (2 weeks' imprisonment in default).

Count 2: £950 fine (2 weeks' imprisonment in default), consecutive.

Count 3: £950 fine (2 weeks' imprisonment in default), consecutive.

Count 4: £2,700 fine (2 weeks' imprisonment in default), consecutive.

Count 5: £3,250 fine (2 weeks' imprisonment in default), consecutive.

Count 6: £3,800 fine (2 weeks' imprisonment in default), consecutive.

Count 7: £3,700 fine (2 weeks'...