The Winebox decision announced in the High Court in Auckland today represents a victory for all New Zealand taxpayers, said the New Zealand First Leader, Winston Peters.

Mr Peters challenged the findings of the Winebox Commissioner on the grounds that Sir Ronald Davison wrongly applied the law to a tax scheme known as the Magnum transaction.

In the Magnum transaction, the Cook Islands Government was paid to issue tax receipts which were later used to offset tax liabilities in New Zealand.

Mr Peters always maintained that such schemes, using the Cook Islands tax haven, were not legal and that they had not been fully investigated by the Inland Revenue Department and Serious Fraud Office.

“Using complex schemes, a group of New Zealand business people deprived the country of hundreds of millions of dollars in lost tax revenue.

“This tax money, which could have been spent on hospital operations and educating our young people, went into the pockets of people without any business or social ethics.”

Mr Peters said that he and his counsel, Brian Henry, would study the Judges’ ruling over the weekend and he would then decide what further action would be taken.

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