Man faces charges on pay slip anomalies

HANDWRITTEN pay slips are at the centre of a court case allegedly involving dishonesty towards the Australian Taxation Office.

Mareeba businessman Voli Della Bosca has denied deliberately under-reporting the amount of tax withheld from his employees.

Barrister Peter Feeney, for Commonwealth Prosecutions, told the court that between the 2009 to 2013 financial years Mr Della Bosca declared that he had withheld $84,158.

During the same period, employees lodged tax returns declaring that $257,977 in PAYG tax had been withheld from their wages.

“As a result of the defendant’s (alleged) conduct there was a risk of a loss to the Commonwealth ... to the value of $173,819,” Mr Feeney said.

Mr Della Bosca’s barrister Justin Greggery said the issue was whether the prosecution could prove that Mr Della Bosca did it dishonestly.

Mr Greggery said the case against his client’s alleged dishonesty was built on a comparison between (handwritten) pay slips and other documents submitted to the ATO.

“This was not a sophisticated system of recording and paying employees,” he said.

“They were handwritten with net amounts and the amount of tax next to it.”

The trial, under District Court Judge Leanne Clare SC, continues today.