The offences took place between 1 January 2022 and 1 April 2023.
Yesterday, the presiding judge emphasised the unnecessary time incurred by the Court and Revenue Jersey due to Carter’s non-compliance, as well as the support that would have been available to her had she responded to Revenue Jersey officers.
For the offence, Ms Carter was fined £4,000 and is liable to 12 weeks imprisonment if she does not pay.
If she does not pay her outstanding ITIS bill of more than £8,000, she is also liable to an additional 24 weeks imprisonment.
The sentences would run consecutively, so if Carter fails to pay both the fine and the compensation then she could be imprisoned for up to 36 weeks.
However, the Erlinda’s Fish & Chips owner has agreed to pay the money back at a rate of £1,000 per month.
Pictured: Carter was also ordered to pay over £7,000 to a former employee for unpaid wages and unpaid holiday pay by the Employment and Discrimination Tribunal earlier this year.
Commenting on the case, Assistant Comptroller of Revenue, Amanda Sloan, said: “Whilst taxpayers failing to file a return for any tax type concerns Revenue Jersey, the Combined Employer Return particularly concerns us due to the unfair impact on employees: Non-filing means we do not know what tax the employer has already deducted from employees’ salaries, and can’t know whether the employer has been paying the correct, or any amount over to us.
“Non-filing can lead to very serious situations where employees, for instance needing sickness benefit, find themselves ineligible as their deducted contributions have not been paid over by their employer resulting in large gaps on their employees’ records.
“It can also cause employees’ ITIS rates to rise sharply: ITIS deducted from their salaries if not declared on a return, is sometimes not paid to Revenue Jersey when it should be, leaving their tax bill unpaid.”
Pictured: Erlinda Carter of Erlinda’s Fish & Chips pleaded guilty to persistently failing to file monthly employer returns for her business and employees in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The Government added that Carter’s case serves as a reminder of the importance of adhering to tax regulations and working in cooperation with Revenue Jersey to maintain a fair and effective tax system.
Earlier this year, Carter also appeared in front of the Employment and Discrimination Tribunal.
She was ordered to pay over £7,000 to a former employee for unpaid wages and unpaid holiday pay.