Logie JanJAN LOGIE (Green): I am pleased to take a short call for the Green Party on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2016-17 Closely Held Companies and Remedial Matters) Bill. As has been well covered by previous speakers this is a very detailed piece of legislation covering a lot of ground. The unifying thread of the legislation is tax and beyond that it is a little bit hard to make out what the unifying concept is as so much is covered in this piece of legislation.I will list the pieces of legislation that are covered by this. It may be slightly painful but I think that if anybody is listening or reading the transcripts it may be an easy way to work out whether this covers an area that you are concerned with. It will look at the annual rates of income tax for 2016 making changes relating to closely held companies look-through companies and qualifying companies; also non-resident withholding tax for Related party and branch lending" the Goods and Services Tax "Related parties debt remission" "Loss grouping and imputation "Remission income insolvency and bankruptcy" "Aircraft overhaul reserves" New Zealand double tax agreements "Schedule 32 donee status" for charities "Land tainting and council controlled organisations" "Loss offsets by mineral miners" "Working for Families Tax Credits" information sharing the application of the time bar to ancillary taxes and other remedial amendments. For all of those with a very keen interest in our taxation system I hope that was helpful.For me what characterises this legislation in what I can see in it at this stage is a sense of lost opportunity really more than anything in the detail as I have not truth be known had the chance to go into it in its full depth yet. But we are aware as my colleague James has spoken to quite significantly already of the disappointment around the fact that it does not cover or provide any protections for us around foreign trusts to make sure that New Zealand's reputation is secured internationally and that we are keeping up with the movements in the world to protect the tax bases of each country to make it as difficult as possible for those with resources to be able to hide their wealth in other countries and avoid supporting the countries that have supported them so well. So this is a lost opportunity on that basis.I would also suggest that this bill is a lost opportunity in terms of addressing child poverty because although it is making minor changes to the Working for Families tax credit whenever we look at the Working for Families tax credit we have the opportunity to make an absolute difference to reduction in child poverty in this country. We know that we have over 305000 children living in relative poverty in this country and massive material hardship which means kids who do not have their own bed who have never had a birthday in their life because their families do not have the money to be able to buy presents or put on a special dinner and kids who are getting sick and being hospitalised because their families cannot afford to heat their houses. This bill could make those changes to Working for Families of bringing the in-work tax credit in line with the family tax credit giving those poorest families who are not able to be in the workforce the $72.50 that other families who are able to work that 20 hours get. It would reduce inequality in our country and protect our most vulnerable children.It would also be an opportunity to reset the abatement rate for Working for Families which the Government has very sneakily been increasing clawing back money from not particularly well-off people in this country—people who are still struggling and needing the support of Working for Families; to be able to give it to some of the poorest New Zealanders rather than taking it from the wealthiest. I hope that we use this bill as an opportunity to promote transparency to be a good international citizen and to tackle child poverty. To me that would make this bill interesting."