Woolerton R Doug: Income Tax Bill — Second Reading 
Woolerton R Doug: Income Tax Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:641;Page:11221] 
R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 I start by congratulating the chairman of the Finance and Expenditure Committee on getting this bill through in a timely fashion. I congratulate and thank Sir Ivor Richardson and the advisers and the experts who helped us through this huge bunch of documents—four volumes—that was started way back we understand in Roger Douglas’ day and in the early 1990s according to Dr Lockwood Smith. That is a long long time to spend on getting a piece of legislation rewritten and through the House. So I congratulate and thank all of those who helped us with those tasks. 
I am sure people know that the select committee would not be wading through all that stuff on its own and if they do not I am here to tell them. I also congratulate them on putting it into more simple language. I suggest that it is still not that simple but it is simpler. It is the language that is used today not the language of another era. I also congratulate Mr Peter Dunne the Minister of Revenue and I suggest that his keeping the pressure on is what has got this thing through. That is yet another sign of an MMP Parliament working very very well indeed. This bill is I think one of the biggest bills that has gone through any Parliament in the Commonwealth recently. It is simply massive. 
In talking to the bill I also want to address a couple of issues that were raised by Dr Lockwood Smith and I hope members will be understanding when I do this. It is important that people know when Dr Smith and the National Party are talking about massive increases in tax that those increases are brought about by increased financial activity by the increase in the take from GST—because people have had more money to spend—and because businesses have had higher turnovers. All of this stuff is in this bill so obviously there is more money in the system and more revenue will be gathered. But it is also important to say that although the National Party members talk about cutting taxes they voted against a tax cut recently. Personally I could not believe it. In fact the last time that the National Party gave anybody a tax cut was I am told reliably back in 1960. Yet it built a whole campaign in 2005 on tax cuts and it has been talking about them ever since. 
In fact there have been tax cuts by this Government that the National Party voted against. Those tax cuts apply to the savings vehicles that KiwiSaver is going to invest money from the public in and they relate to the overseas portfolio investment entities that are available to people on the sharemarket. In fact there will be $3.5 billion in tax savings over the next 4 years. But it does not suit the National Party to vote for those tax cuts or to admit that they have happened and it certainly does not suit National to say publicly that it voted against them. 
New Zealand First is behind this bill absolutely and will be voting for it through all the stages. It is a huge volume of work and I am sure that the people who have been involved in it—the experts the officials—will heave a sigh of relief. I hope that the chairman of the Finance and Expenditure Committee sees fit to buy them a magnum of champagne when this legislation finally gets through the House. 
Craig Foss 
: One each. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: I tell Mr Foss that I think he should and I am prepared to give him $5 to help with the cost of that such is my thankfulness to the people who assisted us. I think that would be appropriate because something like this is not seen very often in this Parliament. I just want to reinforce the magnitude of the task that has been completed here and I look forward to supporting it through the House.