Sheffield takeaway owner hauled before the courts for tax fraud

Babak Nezami, owner of Pizza 4 You, lied to HMRC about his earnings in a bid to evade paying 30,000 in tax

A Sheffield takeaway owner, who hid income brought in by his business in a bid to evade paying Â£30,000 in tax, has been hauled before the courts.

An investigation by HM Revenue and Customs found Babak Nezami, of Burnaby Green, Walkley lied about his income on tax returns between 2011 and 2015 to evade paying the

correct amount of tax.

The 33-year-old, who ran Pizza 4 You on Ridgeway Road, Gleadless also failed to register for VAT or pay it despite trading over the VAT threshold since January 2015.

Nezam told HMRC he received income totalling £139,099 between 2011 and 2015.

However investigators found he’d received more than £217,000 from online sales alone.

An HMRC spokesperson said: “Nezami thought he could line his pockets with money which should have been used to fund our public services, but he was wrong."

Nezami admitted Income Tax and VAT fraud during an earlier hearing.

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, during a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on January 22.

Proceedings are now underway to recover the £30,000 owed by Nezami.

The HMRC spokesman continued: “HMRC will continue to pursue criminals like Nezami who think stealing tax is acceptable. If you have

information about tax fraud please contact our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”