An Auckland small business says IRD's unclear Covid support rules have caused him to sell up

Hopscotch Brewery says they owe almost 50-thousand dollars in wage subsidies, and resurgent payments, now they've been deemed ineligible.

Owner Hugh Grierson says says after an audit, IRD told him he was supposed to show evidence of a 30-percent loss over six weeks, not one.

Grierson says it's frustrating to be seen as having scammed the system.

He says the system is a trap, and he's lost his business as 12 years of his life.