Smith Lockwood: Income Tax Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Smith Lockwood: Income Tax Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:641;Page:11291] 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (National—Rodney) 
: 
 I am happy to do that Mr Chairman although I do not believe I should have to because this is a time-limited debate. There is no restriction on the number of calls because the debate covers all parts. But I am happy to seek leave if it— 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I think that the Committee will be quite lenient but I want to do it by following the procedure. 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH 
: OK I will seek leave Mr Chairman if that is helpful. 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Is there any objection to that? There is none. 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH 
: I think it is a bit of an indictment on the member who has just resumed his seat Charles Chauvel—and I accept that he is a new member—that he had the chance here to speak on 3281 pages of legislation and he could not do that. He is a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee. 
I want the Minister to answer some specific questions about the legislation in front of us. Supplementary Order Paper 136 in the name of the Hon Peter Dunne has been dropped on the House this afternoon. It is 250 pages long. We know that part of it is a rewrite of the fair dividend rate legislation that passed through the House in 2006. We know that it is a rewrite of the Taxation (Savings Investment and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 2006. I asked specifically a call ago about the rewrite of Part M which starts on page 99 of the Supplementary Order Paper. As I read those changes to Part M it appears to me that what is happening there is that the Supplementary Order Paper rewrites part of the Working for Families tax credit legislation because that is all contained in Part M of the existing Act. 
If members look up Part M in the bill that is in front of us they will see it is covered from page 1692 onwards under the heading “Tax credits for families”. It seems to me that this Supplementary Order Paper incorporates the tax credits under the Government’s KiwiSaver scheme: the tax credits to those who participate as distinct from any tax credits back to employers. It seems to me that tax credits to participators in KiwiSaver will now be covered in Part M of the Income Tax Act. That is quite a significant development and someone from the Government ought to explain it. The member Charles Chauvel should be explaining what the hell the Government’s legislation is doing. I suspect that he does not know. I think that the Government needs to assure us about this legislation. 
If I am right the changes to Part M that start on page 99 of Supplementary Order Paper 136 bring into this rewrite the legislation that was passed through this Parliament on the day of the Budget without reference to a select committee. That legislation was passed through the House following the presentation of the Budget just a short while ago and it passed through all stages without reference to a select committee. Now it would appear—and I stress that it would appear because I do not know this for certain—that those changes are now being incorporated in this rewrite. At no stage has that legislation ever been to a select committee. It went through all stages here following the Budget. As I recollect matters the provisions for tax credits for contributors to the KiwiSaver scheme are part of the Budget legislation. That legislation went through all stages following the Budget and now this Supplementary Order Paper—from page 99 onwards in the various sections in Part M—incorporates those changes into this rewrite. No select committee has ever had a chance to hear submissions on any of that legislation. 
I want the Minister in the chair to address this issue. I am prepared to accept that I am wrong. I am prepared to accept that my reading of this situation is not correct. I stress that I have seen the Supplementary Order Paper only this afternoon. If I am wrong that is great but I believe that the Committee should know what on earth these changes mean. It seems to me that the Supplementary Order Paper does refer to tax credits for people involved in the KiwiSaver scheme. For example new Subpart MK is entitled “Tax credits for KiwiSaver schemes and complying superannuation funds”—there it is in black and white. Tax credits for KiwiSaver schemes were part of the Budget legislation if I remember it correctly and therefore have never been to a select committee. 
How can the Minister assure this Committee that what we are going to incorporate into this hugely important rewrite of the Income Tax Act has been sufficiently thoroughly scrutinised when it has never been to a select committee neither in its original passage through this House nor now—because this Supplementary Order Paper will not go to a select committee? Can the Minister assure us that there are no technical problems on this Supplementary Order Paper? It adds whole new bits to Part M of the Act. Part M of the bill at the moment does not incorporate tax credits for the KiwiSaver scheme. Of course there are no provisions for the tax credits of the KiwiSaver scheme in the bill because when the Income Tax Act was being rewritten that legislation had not been passed. 
I believe that if the Government is taking Supplementary Order Paper 136 at all seriously someone on the Government side ought to know what the devil the Government is doing. Instead of making ignorant contributions like the one that we heard from Charles Chauvel Government members should tell us what the Supplementary Order Paper is doing and whether any select committee has ever had a chance to look at it seriously. They should give the Committee some assurance that it is not full of problems.