A Pakistani immigrant told New Zealand officials he had not paid nearly 200,000 New Zealand dollars (about 134,000 US dollars) in income tax because "where I come from we didn't have to pay tax," a newspaper reported on Thursday. ( dpa )
Farrukh Hashmi, 42, pleaded guilty in the Napier District Court Wednesday to 37 charges of failing to pay tax on earnings from his grocery store between 2002 and 2007, the Dominion Post reported.
Hashmi, who moved to New Zealand with his wife and daughter from Karachi 12 years ago, told investigators he was not aware that he had to pay tax, saying he did not have to pay it where he came from, the court was told.
He told the paper after the hearing that Pakistan had a tax system, but "hardly anyone pays it - I worked there but I never paid taxes."
Hashmi was remanded on bail for sentence on December 5 and ordered to surrender his passport.