A 37-YEAR-OLD man who owed around £30,000 in unpaid income tax has admitted falsifying a tax form in an attempt to pay less.
The Magistrate’s Court heard that Elliot Victor Potier Gomes had not paid the correct income tax for two and a half years.
In November 2023, he provided an Income Tax Instalment Scheme form to his last employers which falsely stated that he was eligible to pay 8% tax.
He was in fact required to pay 32% due to the arrears.
Gomes admitted the offence but explained that his former businesses had collapsed. He said: “I couldn’t afford to pay what they were asking. I was desperate.”
Assistant Magistrate Adam Clarke fined him £1,000, telling him: “You have a responsibility to pay your taxes, and not to alter documents.
“It’s important that the court sends out a message that you cannot do it. We need to have an income tax system that works.”
