03 April 2025

An Auckland woman was sentenced to 12 months home detention for tax offences involving more than half a million dollars.

Victoria Sabrina Kalapa was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on 2 April. She was charged with aiding or abetting a company she controlled to make PAYE deductions which it didn’t pay to Inland Revenue (IR).

Kalapa was the sole director and shareholder of Gold Standard Scaffolding Ltd (GSSL) which started operating in 2019 and was liquidated in 2023. Her husband was the operating manager.

Inland Revenue started investigating in July 2023 and asked banks and the company’s customers for information. Bank accounts for GSSL showed deposits of $4.5m over four years and withdrawals of almost the same amount from 2019 to 2023.

More than $2m in “drawings” was transferred to Kalapa‘s personal banks accounts, along with “wages” of nearly half a million dollars.

Analysis of the company bank accounts showed that by transferring the funds to her personal bank account Kalapa was not only putting GSSL into an insolvent position but was helping the company commit tax offences.

Between 20 November 2019 and 20 April 2023, GSSL didn’t transfer any PAYE payments to IR, other than a single $500 payment, despite there being money in the bank to pay them in full or in part.

Kalapa contacted IR during the investigation to request an instalment arrangement for GSSL. Arrangements were agreed to, but they eventually failed due to missed payments.

The total assessed PAYE not paid by the due dates is $560,584.58 with $1,700 in late payments and transfers. The total core tax that remains unpaid is $558,884.58. 

Kalapa prioritised payment to herself from the GSSL bank accounts ahead of the company’s tax obligations.

The court ordered Kalapa pay $13,000 in reparations at $50 per week.

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