David Henderson

Who is David Henderson?

David Henderson is a Christchurch, New Zealand based property developer.

In 1994 he founded the libertarian magazine the Free Radical. He was also a student of Zenith Applied Philosophy, "It really sparked my interest. I found it greatly stimulating and inspiring, immensely so. They got a terribly bad name, a bad rap."

From 1992 to 1995 he was audited 27 times after claiming a GST refund and the Inland Revenue Department demanded he pay $NZ924,341 in taxes and penalties. He was charged with fraud, his business failed and he was bankrupted and had to sell his house. The IRD eventually conceded that he did not owe it $NZ924,341, and fraud charges against him were dropped. They also admitted that they owed him $NZ64,000.This experience led him to write a book Be Very Afraid: One Man’s Stand Against the IRD. In 2007 his story was made into a film by South Pacific Pictures, entitled We're Here To Help.

Henderson's company, Property Ventures Limited is currently undertaking a number of developments including the billion dollar new town, Five Mile, in Queenstown.

In November 2007 saw the opening in Christchurch of a new style of hotel named HotelSO. This building, acquired by Henderson in 2004, was occupied by the Inland Revenue Department.