Clark David: Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015-16 Research and Development and Remedial Matters) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeClark David: Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015-16 Research and Development and Remedial Matters) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 11 March 2015. Volume:703;Page:2165. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North): It is a pleasure to rise and speak on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015-16 Research and Development and Remedial Matters) Bill. As we confirm the annual rates it is important to remember from the outset that the confirmation of tax rates includes the confirmation of the tax cuts that National brought in previously for the wealthiest New Zealanders. That tax package early on that brought 40 percent of the benefits to the wealthiest 10 percent of New Zealanders—over 40 percent actually—and the bottom 20 percent of earners got just 2 percent most of which was followed up immediately in a GST increase which went against the Prime Minister’s promise. New Zealanders today are still paying as taxpayers in terms of service cuts and so on for those tax changes that the Government brought in. We are being asked here today to confirm those in the House. So it is with some reservation that we support this bill to the select committee.We on this side of the House are a party that wants all New Zealanders to get ahead not just the very few at the top. We note that median wages have been stubborn and that New Zealanders have not had real increases in their wages under this Government only a few at the top. In fact many are worse off. Many of those small businesses that struggle day to day where people risk their shirts have gone under under this Government. There are fewer small businesses than there were under Labour. We also know that with the ACC overcharging $350 million more of ACC burden is being borne by the business people of New Zealand than is strictly necessary. So we have reservations.We also have reservations of course because this bill is seeking to implement a range of new tax changes that will require IT adjustments and we know that the Inland Revenue Department has struggled consistently and over time to implement tax changes. In fact there was of course a very embarrassing situation Mr McClay found himself in as a new Minister at Christmas 2013 announcing when he had hoped the press gallery had gone home to their Christmas turkey that there was going to be a postponement of the child support changes. That will have been long after many families made adjustments to their personal circumstances—took on extra debt maybe celebrated the fact that they had slightly smaller payments to make and bought their children some Christmas presents or took on some laybys—and then they were told by Mr McClay that the Inland Revenue Department was not going to be able to implement the policy. Parliament was then forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars putting another bill through this House just to reverse out the changes for 1 year to give the Inland Revenue Department time to try to implement the changes. So we have some reservations about the Inland Revenue Department’s ability to implement the changes in this bill.In 2013 in fact we had that change but before that in 2012—Valentine’s Day in fact—John Key made a promise perhaps in the romantic rush of the day. He promised to get on to fixing that computer system. In 2012 John Key said on Valentine’s Day that we cannot be held hostage to old technology and we cannot have the case where we cannot implement new policy. Well 3 years on—the Valentine’s Days are flying by—and John Key has broken that promise it seems. And just recently we have learnt of more IT cost blowouts at the Inland Revenue Department. The implementation of the child support legislation has gone from the $30 million initially budgeted to now $163 million to implement the child support changes.This is a Government that is playing fast and loose with taxpayers’ cash. It is asking ordinary New Zealanders to tighten their belts. It is asking those small-business people to pay more ACC levies and to cope with more red tape and all the while it is funding the tax cuts for the very wealthiest New Zealanders while middle New Zealand is slipping behind and struggling. We want this Government to focus on the issues that matter to ordinary New Zealanders on jobs that could be created if it was not overcharging for ACC and on making sure that it does fair deals not the Novopay debacle and not the corporate welfare handouts to Skycity to preserve its bottom line but to actually look after small businesses in New Zealand and ordinary New Zealanders and help them to get ahead and to get good jobs and decent wages.