Small businessman jailed for tax evasion

Date: 18th July 2008

A small business owner has been sentenced to jail for one year after failing to pay £71,229 in tax and national insurance.

John Eifion Bate ran a small financial advice company, offering information about mortgages and other products.

At Caernarfon crown court, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion after an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

It was found that Mr Bate had avoided paying the correct levels of tax and national insurance for seven years, between 1997 and 2005.

The case begun when Mr Bate submitted a tax return in 2005 claiming that he had only been in business for a year. Subsequent investigation found that he had not submitted any tax returns for the other years he had been trading.

During sentencing, Judge HH Rogers said that Mr Bates had dishonestly defrauded HM Revenue & Customs for ten years, making prison the only option.

After the prosecution, a team leader at HMRC, Andrew Millican, commented: "[This] sentencing shows that HMRC will investigate anyone suspected of deliberate tax fraud.

"John Bate thought that he could operate at an unfair advantage by defrauding the Exchequer and other honest, law abiding citizens who pay what is due, when it's due."