West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Thursday 23 August 1951, page 7


Tax Offender Criticised For "False" Evidence Mr. A. G. Smith, S.M., criticised Charles John Besley Veryard in the Perth Police Court yesterday, when he fined him £120 with £22/17/6 costs for having understated his income in a taxation return in 1947.

The charge against Very ard said that he had un derstated his income by £712. When the defendant was convicted yesterday, it was pointed out by Mr. P. Connaughton (for the Taxa tion Department) that the maximum penalty in the Police Court for the offence was a fine of £,500, in ad dition to which an offender could also be ordered to pay the amount of tax that had been avoided. Veryard was ordered to pay to the department the tax avoided, which a taxa tion official estimated would be about £287. Mr. Smith said: "It amazes me that a man in Veryard's position should come here and swear on oath the things that he has. The defendant has not only misstated his income but wllfully misstated it, and so obviously from the evidence that has been placed before me that even a child could see it" Referring to evidence which the defendant had given last Monday, when he said that he could not remember on what ground his wife had at one stage taken out a petition for divorce, Mr. Smith said that it amazed him that a man with a wife and four children could make such a statement or say that he had not read about the divorce proceedings. "MANUFACTURED." Mr. Smith said that he was satisfied that the defendant had not paid £105 commission to a Mrs. Rosser, for which he had claimed a tax deduc tion, nor had be paid an amount of £224 in wages to his wife as he had alleged. He had no doubt that the wages book had been "cooked," that the defendant had given false evidence and that his whole case had been "manufactured." Referring to Mervyn John Offer, an investigation officer of the Taxation Department, who had given evidence in the case, Mr. Smith said that he thought that he had been very fair in the proceedings. He had given his evidence in a logical and very clear manner. and he (Mr. Smith) agreed with him that some of the claims made by the defendant were absurd. An application by the de-fendant's counsel (Mr. N. P. Lappin) for a stay of proceed ings for 21 days was granted.