The Auckland mortgage broker was sentenced to three years and two months jail in the Waitakere District Court on 10 charges of failing to submit an income tax return with the intention of tax evasion for each of the tax years between 2008 and 2017.

Barton served a jail sentence in the early 2000s on a number of fraud offences.

Inland Revenue spokesperson Tony Morris says every self-employed person knows of the requirement to file an income tax return but Barton knowingly avoided this obligation.

“Barton registered for income tax and proceeded to not pay it for all the years that he was in business.

“Our audit uncovered regular deposits into his bank account for the mortgage broking or consultancy services he was providing so it was clear his business was profitable.”

Barton evaded over $400,000 by choosing not to file his income tax returns.

Morris says those actions can’t be left to slide without serious consequences.

“Taxpayers can’t just choose to remove themselves from the tax system. We all have a responsibility to pay our fair share towards society’s essential services.

“Barton was fully aware of his tax obligations. We made several attempts to try to help him get back on track but he simply wasn’t interested in doing the right thing.

“His offending amounts to straight out theft of taxpayers’ money and shows a blatant disregard for one of the key responsibilities of running a business – filing an income tax return.”