Strip club’s future uncertain
The company behind Christchurch’s only strip club faces going bust after failing to pay the government tens of thousands of dollars in tax.
Casino Bar Ltd, which runs Calendar Girls on Victoria St, owes the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) almost $75,000 in unpaid taxes stretching back to April last year.
After the firm failed to stump up $64,000 in September, the IRD declared it insolvent and unable to pay its debts, and in November filed papers with the High Court in an effort to have Casino Bar Ltd liquidated.
But the company’s national general manager Scott McCormick denied it is insolvent, blaming its debts on having to deal with an accountant he said had wrongly taken $127,000 from the firm over the last year.
He told Stuff a bill for $18,000 in unpaid PAYE tax deductions was settled earlier this month, another $47,000 would be paid on Monday and the remainder dealt with in the coming weeks.
‘‘It is not a case of being insolvent. It’s a case that we haven’t been able to see our accounting position because of that accountant.’’
The firm does not owe any other money and staff had been paid, he said, promising there was no danger of the club having to shut its doors.
‘‘Staff and all the supporters have always been paid and they have been for 22 years.’’
Police refused to say whether they had investigated the firm over the debts.
It is not the first time companies associated with the Calendar Girls name have fallen foul of the tax department.
In 2016 Casino Bar (No 2), which operates the Auckland branch of Calendar Girls, was put into liquidation after failing to pay around $200,000 to the IRD.
And in 2013 Casino Bar (No 3), which controlled Calendar Girls in Wellington, also fell into receivership. The Christchurch strip club was also embroiled in an employment dispute last year when a stripper claimed she had been unfairly sacked.
Casino Bar Ltd is a Christchurch business registered in the name of a single director, Vicki Samson, who also has links with other Casino Bar companies.
Its sole shareholder is Alan Samson Ltd, which is also owned by Vicki Samson.
Court documents reveal the firm racked up the debts between April and August.
An IRD summary of its accounts shows it owed almost $79,000. Despite paying off more than $11,000, penalties and interest meant it still owed $73,732 as of October 18.
The bulk – around $47,000 – was unpaid GST, the remainder comprising $18,000 in PAYE deductions, $7500 for KiwiSaver payments and smaller amounts for student loan and superannuation contributions.
McCormick said the firm is currently in litigation with an accountant who he suggested had diverted funds intended for the tax payments. ‘‘We’re talking about a $127,000 GST return that was taken from an accountancy firm that we’ve been trying to get back,’’ he said.
The IRD’s application to have the company liquidated will be heard at the High Court in Christchurch on February 5.