Troubled property developer Andrew Krukziener's proposal to his creditors has been set down for a High Court hearing on November 17-18 but it could be affected by a tax case he is also involved in. Details of the proposal haven't been made public yet but
Troubled property developer Andrew Krukziener’s proposal to his creditors has been set down for a High Court hearing on November 17-18 but it could be affected by a tax case he is also involved in.
Details of the proposal haven’t been made public yet but it was revealed in the High Court earlier this year that Mr Krukziener owes a total of about $50 million, including nearly $13 million unsecured personal debt. He is disputing part of that figure.
The trustee of the proposal is Jeff Meltzer of insolvency practice Meltzer Mason Heath.
Mr Krukziener is “insolvent,” Mr Meltzer’s lawyer Robert Brennan said in the High Court at Auckland today.
One of Mr Krukziener’s creditors is Inland Revenue, which opposes his proposal and is attempting to have him bankrupted.
The IRD claims Mr Krukziener owes them about $6 million in taxes, a figure he disputes saying he owes it only $3.7 million.
A bankruptcy hearing on the matter is scheduled for next Tuesday but unless there’s a major change in the situation before then it will be adjourned until October 12.
A hearing has been scheduled for this date to discuss the outcome of a tax avoidance matter involving Mr Krukziener, which was heard in June – a judgment hasn’t been made yet.
About $5 million is at stake in the case, which could have an effect on the creditors proposal depending on which way the decision goes.
Mr Krukziener is appealing a Taxation Review Authority ruling that loans from a trust and company that supported his lifestyle for 12 years were assessable income.
He had hoped to repay the loans with income from future developments but ran into trouble when he built the landmark Metropolis skyscraper, which was a financial failure.
Mr Krukziener's lawyer, Greg Blanchard, said today in court that a two-day hearing would be required for the proposal due to the “complexity” of Mr Krukziener’s financial affairs.
