A bus operator has been jailed for tax fraud amounting to around £1m, according to Luton On Sunday.
James Taylor, 68, was sentences to 30 months in prison at Luton Crown Court on August 5 after he deliberately put nine companies into liquidation to avoid paying PAYE and VAT to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). He had pleaded guilty to the fraudulent evasion of VAT and income tax at an earlier hearing.
When he shut a company down, the money would be diverted into his personal bank account before a new company was started.
The local authority was unaware that it had been dealing with more than one company, as James had used the same trading name, Taylors Transport Services, throughout the scam.
Paul Barton, Assistant Director of the fraud investigation service at HMRC, said: “Mr Taylor believed he was being clever by pocketing the £1m rather than paying it over to fund the UK’s vital public services. But he couldn’t have been more wrong.
“His scam gave him unfair advantage over his honest competitors and he is paying the price with a prison sentence. We will now look to strip him of the proceeds of his criminal activity. His affluent lifestyle of nice cars, houses and holidays, which he funded through this fraud, is well and truly over.
“Anyone with information of those committing tax fraud can contact our 24-hour hotline on 0800 59 5000.”
The 68-year-old used the stolen money to help fund a holiday home in Devon, rent sports cars including a Bentley Continental GT and quickly paid off a big mortgage. HMRC investigators unearthed the full extent of his fraud in 2013.
Confiscation proceedings to recoup the proceeds of his crime will follow.
