The court heard Robinson’s records showed money owed to other companies was paid in preference to tax owed to Inland Revenue.
Robinson also paid more than $122,000 into his personal bank account to fund a high-end lifestyle, the Inland Revenue said in a press release.
He also claimed more than $250,000 from Covid-19 relief schemes that had not been paid back.
In his judgment, the judge said: “There is nothing more corrosive to a society than an individual earning high levels of income and avoiding tax.”
Both of Robinson’s companies had since gone into voluntary liquidation and Robinson himself was declared bankrupt in 2022.
Inland Revenue argued for a near-maximum sentence.
It pointed to the “gravity of the offending” and the fact Robinson would be serving his sentence in a $7m luxury property.
Robinson was ordered to pay $250,000 in reparations.
His 11-month sentence is one month short of the maximum allowed for home detention in New Zealand.