THE TAXMAN COMETH

I haven't reported a whole lot lately on the adventures of failed property developer and Christchurch City Council beneficiary Dave Henderson.

It appears Hendo has been trying to keep a low profile and Mayor Sideshow Bob and his fellow Hendo supporters on the Christchurch City Council have all been trying not to talk about the $17 million bailout.

In fact old Sideshow has been trying to 'attenuate the positive' given the amount of PR material the council has been spewing out lately.

But, privately, Sideshow Bob is still insisting the 'deal' was good business although not all within the Christchurch City Council agree with his verdict.

One City Council insider told me: 'I can't understand how this can be described as a 'good deal'. Someone is benefiting from this deal but its not the local ratepayer'.

The issue will rise again though when the Auditor General releases his final report on the whole affair.

But back to Henderson.

Despite laying low, circumstances have caught up with him again and he is back in the newspaper.

The Press is reporting that the Inland Revenue have moved to put four of Henderson's companies into liquidation over what it claims are, surprise, unpaid taxes.

The taxman is already pursuing a fifth Henderson company for unpaid taxes. The Inland Revenue says that Tannadyce Investments Ltd, owes $356,686 tax for the 2002-2004 tax years.

True to form, Henderson denies this.

Henderson says that the other four companies, operating out of South of Lichfield, are simply late in making tax payments. He insists that these companies are not in financial trouble.

The four companies in trouble are Minx Ltd, Yellow Cross Brewing Company Ltd, Char Char Ltd and Edward J Schwartz Entertainment Inc Ltd.

Of course this is just more embarrassment for Sideshow Bob and pro-Henderson councillors like Sue Wells and Barry Corbett. They have held up South of Lichfield as a shining example of 'urban renewal'. Indeed South of Lichfield was provided as 'evidence' as to why it was a good idea to buy five of Hendo's central city properties.

At least Sideshow Bob and his council cronies can be voted out of office in some two years or so - the problem is what further damage will they do in these two years?