Williams Arena; Watts SimonARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa): Thank you Madam Chair. I am seeking to debate with the Minister the first clause in this bill that he's presented to the House—it is the title. This Act is the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24 Multinational Tax and Remedial Matters) Bill 2023 but it is no longer that because we have now dealt with in this committee an amendment which deeply changed what this bill did.And it wasn't something that went through select committee it wasn't something that the public were consulted on it was something that was introduced in this Chamber in the committee of the whole House stage and therefore avoided all of the sort of process which is fundamental to our lawmaking about taxation because taxation is something that we treat in a way which is consultative. It must be something that people buy into and it goes to the very fundamental role of Government to levy taxation to provide public services to the people who need it. So this bill should change its name to the Taxation (Punishment for First-home Buyers at the Expense of Landlords) Bill 2023" because this bill goes to the heart of the way that we design an economy which provides for first-home buyers to get into the market.Former Prime Minister Keith Holyoake would be rolling in his grave at the kind of change that the National Party is wreaking on our economy for first-home buyers—for people who aspire to work hard and buy their first home. Instead they have provided two changes in this bill that would fundamentally skew the market towards landlords and property investors over and above first-home buyers.Minister when I was buying my first home I was I think 25-years-old which is a really cool position to be in because I was in a professional job and earning a good salary and I was really excited to buy my first home. I was going to weekend open home after weekend open home for a year competing with landlords and property investors who not only had the capital backing from banks that they were easily able to borrow but competitive tax settings that meant it was easier for them that it was in fact their incentive to offer more at home loan auctions than I could as a first-home buyer because their tax settings were better than mine were. We will return to a home-buying market where first-home buyers are systematically—because of the way this is regulated—locked out of the market.Minister I have asked you a number of questions about what is the appropriate proportion of first-home buyers in the market. You did not answer that because the appropriate proportion of first-home buyers is as many as we can get. Everyone in this committee should agree that first-home buyers should have a good run in this country that New Zealand is the kind of country where our tax settings allow first-home buyers to get into the market to work hard to do well for their families and to have some savings not only in their property but also in their bank account so that they can retire with dignity. This bill flies in the face of that. We should change the title of this bill to "Punishment for First-home Buyers" because at a fundamental level—and everyone in this committee should agree that taxation is not about punishing any particular group or embody some perspective and morality. That it's about providing the necessary building blocks as a society that allows everyone the opportunity to flourish and thrive. These taxation changes do not do that.Hon SIMON WATTS (Minister of Revenue): Well thank you very much Madam Chair. Look I appreciate the energy in regards to that contribution but when the select committee reviewed the title of the bill which actually was the title that was put on the bill by the prior Government which we didn't look to seek to change: the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24 Multinational Tax and Remedial Matters) Bill. I appreciate that is what it is but we're pretty happy with the title and the title being proposed does not align with the expectations.In regards to the questions that were asked in terms of the consensus—this was around the Hon Dr Deborah Russell's questions around critical mass. Some of the other countries are Canada the UK Japan and Australia in terms of just some examples of those other ones in terms of that broader cluster.The question specifically around the date of commencement is in clause 2(19) and I so acknowledge there are three pages of commencement dates but that is not inconsistent with tax legislation. So that covers the questions that have been asked to date."