Gym owner’s tax case

A SMITHFIELD gym owner and the son of a former bikie has been fined $1500 and ordered to pay $20,785 to the tax office after “recklessly” failing to declare all his income in two consecutive financial years.

Neil Wesley Undy, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of recklessly failing to declare all his income in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 financial years, resulting in an under-declaration over the two-year period of just over $100,000.

The court heard the AusUndy tralian Taxation Office had audited Undy in 2015 and discovered a significant understatement of his taxable income, leading to an amended notice of assessment and an administrative penalty.

Commonwealth prosecutor Michael Potts told the court there was no allegation of criminal conduct in relation to the 2015 ITR, but it provided context for offending in subsequent years, where Undy had been educated on what his assessable income was, and was on “very recent notice from the tax office as to his obligations”.

Undy is the son of former Bandidos enforcer, gym owner, and current Lotus Glen inmate Lee Undy, who was jailed for eight years in February 2021 for supplying 1kg of cocaine to a man he met at a baby shower.

There is no suggestion the younger Undy was involved in his father’s offending or bikie connections.

The court heard the overall taxation shortfall as a result of Undy’s under-declarations over the two years was $41,566.

Mr Potts and Undy’s lawyer Bebe Mellick said Undy was being prosecuted for “reckless” under-declaration, not intentional or deliberate under-declaration of income.

The court heard administrative penalties of $20,783.85 initially laid against Undy were waived because the ATO had decided to prosecute him.

Mr Mellick said his client was a young man of just 21 and 22 years of age at the time of his offending and had no criminal history.

Mr Mellick said at the relevant time his client had just established “a fairly substantial gym fitness centre at Smithfield Shopping Centre”.

“It’s these taxation returns which substantially relate to that,” Mr Mellick said.

The court heard Undy handed all his documents to his accountant, but did not make his accountant aware of other income in his bank statements as cash deposits.

Magistrate Cathy McLennan, taking into account Undy’s young age, fined him $1500 in total and ordered him to pay a $20,785 administrative penalty to the tax office.

A conviction was recorded.