A COMPANY director from Southam has been sentenced for tax fraud.
Stuart James Howatson of Fisher Road in Bishops Itchington pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud by misrepresentation.
At Coventry Crown Court today (September 29) he was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years, and 150 hours of unpaid work.
The 39 year-old set up an IT consultancy business called Stratos Logistics Ltd with himself as director and provided false information to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to generate tax repayments between 2011 and 2013.
His tax returns claimed he had paid too much tax through the firm’s PAYE scheme. Howatson claimed £13,920.44 in repayments over the three years but a HMRC investigation found he had lied.
A HMRC spokesman said: “Howatson lied to steal money from our vital public services. We will not allow criminals to cheat the honest majority who pay their fair share.”
