Foss Craig: Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Bill — Third Reading 
Foss Craig: Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:653;Page:2154] 
CRAIG FOSS (National—Tukituki) 
: 
 It is with great pleasure that I stand to speak in the third reading of the Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Bill. If one looks at the record one will find that in every speech I have made on this bill I have registered thanks and I will continue to do so here. I wish to record in  
Hansard 
 my thanks to the Minister of Revenue for helping to push this bill through with speed to fellow members and colleagues on the Finance and Expenditure Committee to the officials who assisted us with getting the bill to this point and to those who sat in the background drafting—thanks very much. I would also like to thank the submitters who participated in the thought process in and around this bill. 
The previous speaker Hon David Cunliffe said that he thought this bill was too late and I think he is quite right. It is 9 years to late. After 4 months this National Government has progressed to the third reading of a bill that should have been put in place in good economic times when there were strong surpluses and the books were looking somewhat rosier than they are at the moment. A natural progression—to make our economy more efficient more productive and more focused on the things that matter—would have been to put these measures in place quite some time ago. On that note I agree with the Labour Party finance spokesman that these measures are much too late but it is not too bad for a National Government after 4-odd months in power having been elected by New Zealand as opposed to the 9 years it took the previous administration to even get a few discussion papers around these matters. 
I also note—and I am quite proud of the fact—that this is the first bill from the new National Government that has been introduced to the House has gone through the select committee process and now arrives here for its third reading. It is notable that this first bill is a tax-reducing bill. It is a compliance-reducing bill and it is a cost-reducing bill. It sits with a suite of measures that the National Party announced prior to the election that it intended to do and it is continuing to do so post-election with the 100-day plan. 
The previous speaker noted that these measures were too late. Then he went on to talk about compliance measures and to say how tough compliance is on small businesses. He is quite right. Compliance is very tough on and awkward for small businesses. But the time spent on compliance and red tape has grown exponentially and compounded in the duration of the previous administration. On the one hand under Labour there were more and more rules and regulations that made it harder to get on with making widgets or whatever the businesses were doing. On the other hand small business policy groups and so on would come out with papers but Labour never actually put things into place. It would talk about them forever but never put them into place. Not one part was put into place. 
As I noted this is part of a suite of solutions. I acknowledge other speakers and the parts of the original taxation bill that have been brought forward. In these trying economic times we have now expanded many of the parameters and changed the various thresholds to the benefit of the taxpayer. 
 But it does go with a suite of solutions. I have noted the 100-day plan. The ongoing personal tax reductions that were put before the electorate were roundly endorsed by the electorate and placed before the House and voted on—and for—prior to Christmas alongside issues such as Resource Management Act reforms and improvement to the commerce legislation that has recently been announced by the Hon Simon Power. 
Many New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses will benefit from these measures. This financial year the quantum of assistance or freeing up of cash flow for those core New Zealand businesses is along the lines of $450 million to $500 million. I would like to touch on some estimates of how many New Zealanders will enjoy the benefits of this bill. It has been estimated that an additional 19000 New Zealand employers will benefit from the changes to the PAYE monthly threshold which makes 98 percent of all employers in New Zealand eligible. It is estimated in regard to the increased fringe benefit tax (FBT) filing thresholds that an additional 4800 employers will benefit. This again means that 98 percent of all employers across New Zealand will be eligible to benefit from the measures in this bill. An additional 47000 GST-registered entities will be able to deregister if they wish to do so because of the changes in the GST registration threshold. That is huge. That change in the compliance rules will free up the time and resources of New Zealand businesses and enable them to focus on what matters and hopefully to grow their productivity to help keep people employed. Also 223000 individuals and 45000 companies will benefit from the reduction in the provisional tax uplift. That is huge and it is of massive benefit to New Zealand particularly as we go through this recessionary trough. As I noted in my own little way that is my favourite part of this bill. An additional 5700 entities will benefit from the increase in the GST payment threshold which means that about 96 percent of all registered entities will now be eligible to choose to use the payment basis. All in all these are very beneficial measures not only to the cash flow itself but also to the time taken to comply with various rules around taxation and Government compliance requirements. 
After only 4 months this National Government with I freely admit the cooperation of parties across the House has voted to bring this bill to this point today. Hopefully after a few more speakers on this third reading it will move from this House. I will not go over the detail of the various parts as other speakers have already done so and others probably will. I again note that I am proud to have helped to get this bill to this point and I am very proud that after only 4 months a National-led Government in cooperation with its coalition partners has been able to get the bill to this point to benefit so many New Zealand businesses. Thank you.