Queenstown building company D and M Builders Queenstown Ltd was convicted in the Queenstown District Court yesterday on three charges of not paying PAYE to Inland Revenue.
The company repeatedly neglected its PAYE payments since February 2006, prosecutor Sarah McKenzie said.
The company's director, Mark Charles Dickson, of Fernhill, also faced three charges of aiding and abetting the offending.
Ms McKenzie told Judge Paul Keller D and M Builders failed to pay PAYE deductions to IRD between February and November 2006.
IRD warned it would prosecute future failures.
The company failed to pay $20,332.52 for December 2006 and January 2007 - on clearing that debt in February, it incurred a new one in March 2007.
Dickson's counsel, Phena Byrne, told Judge Keller other creditors who were "on the phone more regularly" had been paid out first.
"He is not a man who set out to defraud the public by avoiding paying taxes - this is a case of a company whose administrative procedures were lacking," Ms Byrne told Judge Keller.
Judge Keller noted a business manager had left the company "about April 2006" shortly after new accounting procedures had been put in place.
The mitigating factors were all outstanding money had been paid to the IRD.
Davidson was sentenced to 200 hours' community work and ordered to pay solicitor's costs of $200.
D and M Builders Queenstown Ltd was convicted and discharged.
