17 Mar 2015

Woman defends $740,000 tax fraud charges

2:20 pm on 17 March 2015

A court has heard that the couple at the centre of a $1.2 million tax fraud case collected Working for Families credits during the alleged offending.

Jainbin Wang, left, and Fenglan Liu in the New Plymouth District Court

Jainbin Wang, left, and Fenglan Liu in the New Plymouth District Court Photo: RNZ

Fenglan Liu has pleaded not guilty, in the New Plymouth District Court, to 37 charges involving about $740,000.

Her co-accused, Jianbin Wang, yesterday pleaded guilty to 58 charges.

The IRD says from 2008 to 2011, the couple, who have two children, declared an income of about $31,000 annually and qualified for tax credits.

The IRD, however, says it is owed $1.184 million but Mr Wang disputes that amount.

He was sole director and shareholder of Top International Trading Limited, which had three stores in New Plymouth, Waitara and Whanganui.