Wong Pansy: Taxation (Annual Rates Maori Organisations Taxpayer Compliance and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill — In Committee 
Wong Pansy: Taxation (Annual Rates Maori Organisations Taxpayer Compliance and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:607;Page:4245] 
PANSY WONG (NZ National) 
: 
 I am so glad that the Hon Paul Swain is in the chair during this debate because that Minister has been holding out to be the champion of reduction in compliance costs on behalf of the Labour Party. We now come to Part 4 of this taxation legislation and I cannot find the compliance cost impact statement that this Minister insists any other piece of legislation should have. This Minister was in charge of the Ministry of Commerce which has the obligation to ensure that every department has a compliance cost statement. This is very relevant to Part 4 because this single piece of legislation for a discriminatory separate tax system for Maori organisations creates a whole lot of compliance costs through various legislative changes in Part 4. I think the public has the right to listen to the Minister the Hon Paul Swain who used to champion the reduction of compliance costs telling us why we have this legislation and what sorts of compliance costs will be imposed under the various changes in Part 4. 
But there is a much more significant issue in this part. So apart from wanting the Minister to take a call to explain the compliance costs or the absence of the compliance cost impact statement we also want the Minister to take a call to give an explanation to the taxpayers who have been told by the Government through this legislation that they can appoint an intermediary particularly in the area of PAYE and other deductions. They were told they could appoint an agent an intermediate party to pay that tax. But what happens when that intermediate party collects the tax amount from the taxpayer and disappears or faces liquidation or the company becomes insolvent? What happens if the agent simply disappears with the money? Whose obligation is it to make good to the tax department? 
Part 4 enables taxpayers to appoint an intermediate party to pay tax on their behalf and the Minister should take a call and say what happens if after they hand over this tax payment the intermediate party gets caught in his or her own business situation and the tax money does not reach the Inland Revenue Department. Who can the taxpayer have recourse to? More than that we want to know what happens if through these unforeseeable circumstances and circumstances beyond the control of these taxpayers the Inland Revenue Department also imposes penalties. We have just learnt from Part 3 that the commissioner has a lot of discretion in terms of imposing penalties. Would taxpayers have relief when faced with the situation of being caught in circumstances beyond their control? 
These are very fair and important questions that the Minister should answer. The Government through this legislation will empower taxpayers to appoint an intermediate party to pay their tax and the Minister should take a call to explain their obligations and liabilities and what penalties they face if the intermediate party has difficulties and the money from the taxpayers never reaches the Inland Revenue Department. 
It is incredible that just because of the single action of being able to appoint an intermediate party to pay tax we have about four pages of legislation amending various sections.