Nash Stuart: Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee 
Nash Stuart: Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee 
[Volume:672;Page:18932] 
STUART NASH (Labour) 
: 
 We are talking about Part 1 of the Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill but I feel as though I have to clarify a couple of things that the Minister in the chair the Hon Peter Dunne has mentioned. First and foremost I find it a little rich that we have the Minister of Revenue in the chair talking about the bad things Labour did when it was in power when that Minister was also the Minister of Revenue under Labour. If the loss attributing qualifying company structure was so poor then why did the Minister of Revenue in the previous Government not do something about it? If there was such a discrepancy between the trust rate and the company rate then why did that Minister not do something about that? I find it a little bit rich to have him stand there and lecture Labour members on what they did wrong when in fact he was the Minister in charge of revenue under Labour. The irony has not escaped any member on this side of the Chamber. 
There is one thing the Minister said that I think I am allowed to rebut. He talked at length about dairy farms. He said that the figures were a little bit disingenuous because there was a figure under “other” that contained $1.5 billion worth of revenue. But I would like to say to the Minister that in the line for dairy farms over 17000 entities classified their primary activity as dairy farming. They were companies trusts and partnerships. The definition according to the Inland Revenue Department was that they had to have tradable activity. There were no shelf companies there and there were no trusts that hid assets. Instead these were trading trusts trading partnerships and trading companies as defined by the Inland Revenue Department. I am more than happy to send over to those members the information that I received from the Minister and that he received from the Inland Revenue Department. These were not shelf companies; these were trading companies. The statistics from the Inland Revenue Department said that dairying was taxed $26 million. 
The statistics also showed that 9000 of those trading entities declared a loss. I have had a number of calls from farmers and one was from a very high executive in Federated Farmers. He said to me that I was right and that the farming industry was in trouble. 
Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga 
: Name and shame! 
STUART NASH 
: The member really wants me to? Conor English called me and said that yes the farming industry was in trouble. This is a debate that we need to have as a country because the farming sector is the backbone of this economy. It is a very important part of this economy. No one on this side of the Chamber would deny that. But the question that was posed and the question we pose is whether the sector is in such a dire state that it can afford to pay only $26 million in tax. That is the question we pose. 
The other question we pose which goes back to Part 1 is whether the integrity of the tax system is in such bad shape that it has allowed farmers to claim expenses for a whole lot of stuff they were able to write off against their incomes. They were allowed to write them off against their incomes to the point where they paid no tax. 
Amy Adams 
: What are you smoking mate? 
STUART NASH 
: I would love Amy Adams to take a call because she has three farms that are all held in trusts. She is a lawyer and I would like Amy Adams to stand up and tell us how she did that. 
Amy Adams 
: I do—sheep farms. You hate them too? 
STUART NASH 
: It does not matter because the statistics on dry stock were just the same. In fact according to the figures from the Minister which were supplied by the Inland Revenue Department 75 percent of dry stock farms earned $20000 or less. Are they really in such a bad shape that they cannot pay tax or is the integrity of the tax system in such a bad way— 
Amy Adams 
: You’re a moron. 
STUART NASH 
: Am I a moron Amy Adams? Mr Chair I take personal offence— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch) 
: The member knows that that is not a parliamentary term. I ask the member to withdraw and apologise. 
Amy Adams 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
STUART NASH 
: Thank you very much. All I am saying is that I know the difference between income and payout and I know about expenses. I know how economics works but I also know that when a sector that describes itself as the backbone of this country pays only $26 million in tax some serious questions need to be asked.