Hide Rodney: Taxation (Annual Rates Maori Organisations Taxpayer Compliance and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill — In Committee 
Hide Rodney: Taxation (Annual Rates Maori Organisations Taxpayer Compliance and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:607;Page:4228] 
RODNEY HIDE (ACT NZ) 
: 
 I have to get up and sharply disagree with our colleagues across the aisle—what are they “Future United”? Which way round are they—united in the future or in the future they will be united? Those members say that the ACT party supports this bill. In fact the ACT party will be voting hard against this bill. I would like to see United Future members explain to their voters how it is possible for them to be supporting two separate tax systems—one for Maori authorities and one for everyone else. I look forward to that discussion because the ACT party says that is wrong New Zealand First Party says that is wrong and the “New Zealand Great National Party” says that is wrong. We are parties that stand up and say that every New Zealander should be treated the same under the laws of this country no matter their race religion or creed. Members of the United Future party are standing up and saying: “Phooey to that.” They are saying that they will have a separate tax law for Maori through Maori authorities and we say that is wrong. 
Let me commend the Minister for these things. It was wrong that Maori authorities not have imputation credits—and full marks for that; it was wrong that Maori authorities appeared to be getting the advantage of being taxed at 25 percent when everyone else was taxed at 33 percent. But the fact that there were no credits applying meant they were often overtaxed compared with people taxed at 33 percent. The simple decision to make is to have the same tax rules for each and every New Zealander. What is hard about that? Why will Mr Copeland of the United Future party not stand up put his party’s flag up a pole and say that United Future believes that all taxpayers should be the same before the law? One’s ethnicity does not matter. 
Mr Copeland thinks it somehow makes this bill acceptable that he has found an Irishman who can rort it and get on the 19.5 percent rate. He says that it is OK because non-Maori can get in on the rort. We should be closing those rorts down I tell Mr Copeland. We should be saying that the tax rate is the same for everyone. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Everybody in the same tax band—that’s right Rodney! 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Well Mr Copeland sits there and chips in with: “Everyone in the same tax band.” That is absolutely right. That is why the National Party the New Zealand First Party and the ACT party say: “Let’s have imputation credits.” I did not hear the Minister after he had heard the Green Party’s speech in favour of this bill. I thought he was going to stand up and vote it down. He certainly did not think that was what this bill was about—something about cultural imperialism and overcoming that. Again how hard is it to go forward as a nation with our tax laws the same for everyone? 
I asked the authorities that came before the committee whether they thought having a lower tax rate would be good for their business. Do members remember that? Each and every authority said: “Yes. Having a 19.5 percent tax rate when everyone else has to pay 33 percent will be good for our business.” Dr Michael Cullen does not believe that because he says that tax rates do not matter—that we can put up the tax rate and it does not affect business or the economy or that we can drop it; it will not help. But the Maori authorities coming before the select committee said it would help. I would like to hear what Mr Jim Anderton has to say about this bill. 
Brian Connell 
: Who? 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Mr Jim Anderton. He is the economic wizard of this Labour Government. He said that if we have a tax cut it is an economic intervention. 
Dail Jones 
: It’s a subsidy. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Well here we have a subsidy but only to some. I look across at my colleague the Hon John Tamihere and ask him how our children are to grow up together in New Zealand as New Zealanders in one country if we have two sets of laws: two sets of policies and two sets of tax systems on the basis of whether the State declares one to be Maori and another to be non-Maori? I should declare a conflict of interest here because both the Minister of Maori Affairs and Tariana Turia said that I am Ngai Tahu.