Please Contribute Here to help us Grow!
An engineering firm owner who went to Canada over Christmas never returned, with his company later placed in liquidation over a large unpaid tax bill.
Dart Engineering 2006 (Ltd) is solely owned by Regan Maurice Williamson. The company was placed into liquidation earlier this month.
That application was made by Inland Revenue, which was owed more than $1.9m in taxes.
The company employed about 40 staff at workshops in Dunedin and Queenstown. Those sites are now shut.
One Dunedin-based worker said staff were sceptical about whether their employer, who they said had spent an increasing amount of time in Canada over the previous 12 months, would return.
Have you been impacted? Email [email protected]
“He didn’t tell anyone, we found out from subcontractors,” said one. “We didn’t know anything.”
Williamson has set up a new company in Canada. Social media posts show Caki Fabrication Ltd, went live in early December.
“With over 20 years of combined industry experience, we pride ourselves on quality workmanship, honest communication and fast turnaround times,” one post read.
Claims totalled $1.9m, of which $1.4m was preferential and $500k unsecured.
A source said there were significant amounts of unpaid PAYE, GST and penalties and interest. The first liquidator’s report was yet to be filed.
Calls to Williamson at his new workshop in Red Deer, Canada (population 110,000) were unreturned on Monday night.
But overnight he replied to an email from Stuff.
“As Dart Engineering is now in formal liquidation, the appointed liquidators are responsible for managing the company’s affairs and communications with creditors,” Williamson said.
“For that reason, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on specific matters while that process is underway,” he said.
“My focus now is on co-operating fully with the liquidators so the process can proceed properly.”
It is understood that Williamson, who declined to comment over how he handled staff, was yet to engage with liquidators.
He was well-known in jet boat circles, having raced competitively in New Zealand and overseas.