Leeds company director avoids jail after stealing £50k worth of VAT
The director of an IT business has avoided a jail sentence, despite pocketing thousands of pounds' worth of tax.
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Michael Baker admitted lying about how much he earned to evade more than £50,000 worth of tax.
Leeds Magistrates Court heard today (Tuesday) how the 53-year-old, who ran an IT consultancy business called Baker Ericson Associates Ltd, pocketed £51,914.82 of money owed to HMRC after suppressing sales on VAT returns between July 2012 and October 2017.
His theft came to light after an investigation carried out by HMRC.
He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, and has started to repay the money he stole.