Little Andrew: Taxation (Annual Rates Foreign Superannuation and Remedial Matters) Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: Taxation (Annual Rates Foreign Superannuation and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 18 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:16001. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ANDREW LITTLE (Labour): We should not take lightly what is really one of the central and core functions of this House which is raising revenue for the Crown so that it can discharge its obligations to the citizens of this fine and fair country. So when we are called upon as a House to either set or confirm what the income tax rates are it is not a matter where we should do so with any sense of jocularity or with any sense of frivolity. It is a matter on which we should proceed with great caution and with due solemnity and seriousness. It is in that spirit that I come here to the Chamber to speakon this bill the Taxation (Annual Rates Foreign Superannuation and Remedial Matters) Bill.My colleagues have drawn the Committee’s attention to really the underlying anxiety that members of the Opposition have about this bill and this provision in this bill which is that the tax rate that was set only a few years ago—it seems like a long time now but apparently it was 5 or so long hard grinding years under this Government—has caused hardship and considerable concern to many people. Nobody won an argument on a public platform in this country by saying: “Quick we need to pay more tax.” but everybody understands the argument that if we want a cohesive society if we want fairness and equity and egalitarianism then the Government of the day needs to be funded to discharge those purposes and objectives that the people need in order to provide the bare minimum for themselves and their families and their communities. So the money raised for hospitals for income support for schools for roading—all those things that actually keep communities together provide opportunities give confidence to investors to invest—all those sorts of things are underpinned by the revenue raised by the Crown to do that and therefore by the money that people pay from what they earn. And whether they earn it by selling their labour their time their skills their talent their intellect; whether they do it through interest earned on their investments; or whether they do it through selling a succession of properties which seems to be increasingly the New Zealand way—all those issues are important when it comes to setting our tax rates.We in Labour say—and we have always stood for this principle—that from those who have done particularly well and who earn the greatest more should be expected. That is the basic principle and it happens to be I say to our Catholic friends opposite a very Catholic principle. It still is and Pope Francis exemplifies it every day he goes about his duties. It is a very important principle. Emulating the lead set by St Francis of Assisi the new Pope Francis stands for greater equality and fairness. The mark of fairness in any Government is the tax system how the Crown gathers its revenue—and not just any form of tax but income tax—and those who do very well because life’s fortunes have smiled upon them and they have acquitted themselves and—Dr David Clark: And they’ve benefited from the infrastructure.ANDREW LITTLE: Well people who take advantage of a good State education system and stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before them—good on them. And if they do very well as a result it is not too much to ask that they put a little bit more back into the kitty to sustain the next generation and to sustain those who have not had the advantages of good fortune and a good life. That is very simple and people understand that.Paul Goldsmith: How much—66 percent 70?ANDREW LITTLE: Paul Goldsmith might not understand that. He might not appreciate it. Not everybody is equipped with the same skill for writing hagiographies as Paul Goldsmith. Some people write serious books and some of them do very well. Eleanor Catton does very well and she will not have to retract what she has written because any character in her book winds up in the dock facing criminal charges. That is the difference between Eleanor Catton who writes good books and Paul Goldsmith who writes fiction.But here is the point. We need to make sure that tax rates that we endorse in this bill are fair and our concern is that when you look at the tax package as a whole the weakness in our tax system is what has happened to income tax. We will address that. We will support this bill for now because it will get us through the next financial period but we will debate these issues and the underlying principles of the income tax system in a few months’ time because New Zealanders are crying out for greater fairness. They are crying out for a better chance and at least a chance to get ahead. Even those who arepaying modest sums of income tax know they are struggling to get ahead not because of the tax rates they are paying but because of the whip hand that has been given to employers to suppress their incomes.Part 1 agreed to.