Liquidators say Nanogirl Labs unlikely to be able to pay $260,000 tax debt
Photo:
RNZ
Nanogirl Labs Ltd owes Inland Revenue more than $260,000 and is unlikely to be able to pay any of its unsecured creditors, its liquidators say.
The company - founded by Michelle Dickinson and her husband Joe Davis - was placed into liquidation last November.
Dickinson told RNZ at the time that a tough business environment was behind the decision.
Government funding had also been cut.
It had provided science live shows, education and STEM kits to children for eight years.
Dickinson told
Nine to Noon
last November that
revenue sources had "dried up"
.
The biggest set back was the cut to MBIE's $1.6 million Curious Minds funding, which supported community science programmes.
Nanogirl also received funding from other government departments, including the Ministry of Education and MFAT which had been undertaking science curriculum work in the Pacific.
All had been cut by the government, she said.
Nanogirl founder Michelle Dickinson says all the funding has been cut by the government.
Photo:
RNZ
Liquidator Digby Noyce, from RES Corporate Services, said in his second report that all employment contracts were terminated when he was appointed, but some staff were contracted to perform the remaining birthday party bookings.
The report said the business had a cash balance of $11,769 and the equipment and stock had no realisable value.
"We have received a preferential creditor claim from Inland Revenue for unpaid GST and employer activities taxes amounting to $267,028.42.
"Our present view, based on information received to date, is that it is uncertain whether a distribution will be available for preferential creditors, however recovery actions through insolvent transactions or other remedies may bring in additional funds, although it is still too early to express a view on such matters."
Noyce had received claims from unsecured creditors amounting to $191,680.
But he said, based on information to date, it was unlikely that a distribution would be made to those creditors.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
6 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Cryptopia customer tried to bribe court registrar for information about company's case
A man claiming to be an affected party in the collapse of a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency company has tried to bribe a court registrar to release information related to the case for $2 million in Bitcoin. New Zealand-based company Cryptopia was allegedly hacked in January 2019, leading to the loss
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Auckland City Rail Link maps go up at Britomart
Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel A glimpse of a new era in Auckland Transport was unveiled on Monday. At Britomart Station, an updated map gives commuters a preview of the new stations and rail lines it will use when the long-awaited City Rail Link (CRL) opens. The over-budget and over-time CRL is nearing completion, but officials are not ready yet to say exactly when it will open. Auckland's Onehunga, Eastern, Western and Southern lines are being replaced by the Onehunga-West line, the East-West line and the South-City line, new routes detailed in the new map. It is hoped the re-configured network will make it easier for Aucklanders to get around town, as more trains run from more stations - like ones near Karangahape Road and in Mt Eden - more frequently, and link with express buses. Work began on the $5.5 billion CRL in 2017. It was due to be completed last year, and its initial cost was expected to be between $2b and $3b . Auckland Transport chief executive Dean Kimpton said capacity on the network had been boosted. "Currently at peak into the city, we have about 12,000 people per hour," Kimpton said. "The capacity we're creating though the new CRL, day one, will be up to 19,000. Quite the number of people will depend on demand, but we have that capacity ready and available to go." Dean Kimpton unveils the new CRL transport map at Britomart, August 2025. Photo: Finn Blackwell / RNZ Parts of Auckland's rail network had been temporarily closed this year for upgrades ahead of the CRL opening, causing significant disruption. Kimpton said the work was necessary. "We have got very specific planned disruption between our CRL-go-live, and that's designed to bring the network up to a standard to support the frequency that CRL anticipates, and that's the rail network rebuild programme." KiwiRail programme director Bobby Fischer said the short-term pain for commuters was part of a bigger picture. "We're going through a significant period of investment in the network that is all in the lead up to CRL opening, once the CRL is open that level of disruption will reduce significantly." She said KiwiRail has run more than 1600 test trains on the network since February. Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel "There's a lot of system testing that's going on, from the signalling system right through to the station system - so the emergency systems testing, ventilation system etcetera, to make sure that when we open everything operates seamlessly as it's meant to," Fischer said. Auckland Councillor Andy Baker said the CRL build had been big for the city. "Politicians we're always pretty keen to find something to grizzle about," he said. "But I think there is, underneath it all, a level of excitement and acceptance that this is what it is." As for an exact date for next year's opening, Kimpton said that was still up in the air. "There's still a lot to be done, and we don't want to promise a date until we're ready to promise a date, but you can be sure when we know, you'll know." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
'Better vocational pathways' to be included in NCEA overhaul
As part of it's overhaul of NCEA, the government has said it plans to work with industry to develop bette vocational pathways for students. Advocacy and stakeholder engagement lead at the Employers and Manufacturers Association, Joanna Hall spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
