Rich Kiwis made to pay $1.2m

Rich Kiwis who had money hidden with the help of a company owned by the Liechtenstein royal family have had to cough up $1.2 million in unpaid tax and penalties.

The Sunday Star-Times reported in June that "two handfuls" of New Zealanders were found to be among the tax dodgers using LGT Group to hide assets, details of which came to light when the German tax authorities bought a CD containing the banking details of LGT's clients from a whistleblower from inside the company.

It was a landmark in a worldwide blitz by cash-strapped countries like the US, Germany and the UK in a bid to increase their tax-takes by smashing down the walls of secrecy around tax havens.

Because the LGT Group, one of the world's largest "wealth managers" was owned by the Liechtenstein royal family through a family foundation, the discovery gave Germany the moral mandate to threaten the tiny landlocked tax haven with sanctions unless it opened its banking system to scrutiny.

A spokesman for the IRD said: "We have completed our cases and collected additional taxes and penalties in excess of $1.2 million.However, we can't provide any further details as we're unable to discuss taxpayer specific affairs."

The case was handled by the IRD's High Wealth Individual Unit, launched seven years ago to ensure the rich pay their fair share of taxes. The unit has identified around $300m in unpaid tax and penalties through auditing the business and personal affairs of the nation's 250 richest people.

- © Fairfax NZ News