The Guardian reports how one frustrated businessman in New Zealand managed to get revenge after being bullied by the Inland Revenue Department:
The financial wrangle has been documented in the film We’re Here To Help, which was released in New Zealand to coincide with the opening of the hotel on November 6. But if you can’t wait for the UK release, here’s a brief synopsis of what happened. In 1994, Henderson dispatched his girlfriend to the tax offices to submit an application for a NZ$65,000 (£23,723) rebate. Inappropriate comments were made to the girlfriend, and Henderson felt obliged to defend her honour. Result: a Kafka-esque twist in which the tax office audited his books and issued a claim for NZ$1m (£365,159). A four-year legal battle in the high courts followed, the claim was eventually overturned and Henderson received his original NZ$65,000 refund.
At which point, most people would probably be happy to retire to a quiet corner and lick their wounds, along with the insides of a couple of bottles of champagne. Revenge tasted sweeter to Henderson, however, so he bought the building, put his name over the door and evicted the tax department. He then set about raising the NZ$40m (£14,606,388) to develop the space into Hotel SO, and is now looking to roll out more in Auckland and possibly London and New York. So, really, we owe a debt of gratitude to the New Zealand inland revenue, the tax department that just likes to keep giving.