Hell’s Pizza operator sentenced to home detention for tax evasion

Wenbin (Ivan) Shi, operator of SWB Foods Ltd trading as Hell’s Pizza in Paraparaumu, was sentenced in the Porirua District Court on October 15 to 10 months’ home detention after dodging more than half a million dollars in taxes. The case laid bare a multi-year trail of missed filings, diverted payroll deductions, and unheeded statutory demands that ultimately caught up with the franchise owner.

Inland Revenue Audit Reveals Unpaid Tax Debt

Scrutiny over the business intensified when an Inland Revenue audit launched in June 2024 uncovered a striking $400,000 tax bill. Financial records reviewed during the probe revealed that SWB Foods Ltd pulled in gross yearly sales ranging from $687,708 in 2017 up to $1,390,341 in 2024. Despite these steady revenues, Shi ceased filing GST returns in 2020, leaving an outstanding balance of $185,143.86 in unpaid goods and services tax. Inland Revenue noted that Shi maintained full knowledge and control over the company’s tax obligations throughout the operation.

Shi Withheld Employee PAYE Deductions

While the business initially kept pace with its obligations—largely filing and paying PAYE on time between April 2015 and April 2018—that compliance collapsed in later years. Between July 2019 and November 2022, Shi deducted PAYE directly from employee wages but failed to transfer the money to Inland Revenue. This left 23 separate PAYE deductions unpaid, totaling $194,295.50. Tax authorities eventually intervened by seizing PAYE arrears directly from company accounts under Section 157 of the Tax Administration Act and issuing two statutory demands, recovering a portion of the funds.

Company Skipped Five Years of Tax Returns

Corporate compliance fared no better behind the scenes. Although an outside accountant managed income tax returns for SWB between March 2015 and March 2019, that professional had zero contact with Shi after 2022. Consequently, the company skipped five consecutive years of annual income tax returns from March 2020 to March 2024, accumulating an estimated $124,415.77 in unpaid corporate tax alongside personal income tax omissions.

Facing representative charges for failing to provide GST, company, and personal tax returns, as well as aiding and abetting the franchise in withholding staff PAYE, Shi scrambled to mitigate the damage shortly before sentencing. In November 2025, he finally filed all outstanding GST and income tax returns amounting to $503,855.13. Having already repaid $100,000 prior to his court appearance, the remaining proven loss to Inland Revenue stood at $403,855.13.

Judge Andy Nicolls
offending against Inland Revenue was not a victimless crime.