6. Question No. 6—RevenueNICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of RevenueQuestion No. 6—Revenue6. NICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of Revenue: Was he correct when he said of the KiwiSaver tax back-down that it was the decision of [him]self and the Minister of Finance as was the decision to put them in in the first place" and what other potential tax changes if any are officials currently working on?Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Revenue): The assertion in the member's question is incorrect. I did not refer to decisions around the standardisation of GST treatment of managed funds as a KiwiSaver tax back-down. IRD as stewards of the tax system continually monitors for improvements as they did under the National Government. Inland Revenue's work programme is currently available on Inland Revenue's website.Nicola Willis: Was the Cabinet paper proposing changes to the tax treatment of KiwiSaver fees a joint paper between the Minister of Revenue and Minister of Finance and what specific involvement did the Minister of Finance have in the development of the KiwiSaver tax proposal?Hon DAVID PARKER: In answer to the first part of the question no the paper was in my name. In respect of the second question obviously the Minister of Finance was involved in the Cabinet decision as were all Cabinet Ministers and as the member should be well aware having worked for the Rt Hon Bill English the Minister of Finance is involved in policy discussions and decisions on tax matters as he is on numerous other policy areas.Nicola Willis: When he was asked yesterday if he thought residential property is treated unfairly from a tax perspective and he said "they'd be right on that but we haven't got that fixed yet" what was the fix he had in mind?Hon DAVID PARKER: I don't recall the context of either the question or the statement that's been put to me but in respect of the assertion earlier in a question that was put to the Prime Minister by the member when she asserted that I have Inland Revenue with a six-person unit working on a capital gains tax that's just plainly wrong.Nicola Willis: Why did he issue a press release about the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2022-23 Platform Economy and Remedial Matters) Bill without any reference to the KiwiSaver provisions contained in it which was set to bring in more tax revenue than all the other proposals combined?Hon DAVID PARKER: Because I didn't expect it was to be as contentious as the proposals to charge GST on Airbnb and Uber share services.Nicola Willis: When he said yesterday of his proposed KiwiSaver tax "We didn't think it would be an issue." did he consider that he is perhaps out of touch with the wishes of New Zealanders who believe wiping $100 billion from their KiwiSaver savings is a bit of an issue?Hon DAVID PARKER: It was never a tax on KiwiSaver despite the misrepresentations that have been made. I would quote from today's National Business Review quoting from a PricewaterhouseCoopers tax partner who said "The application of GST to fund management services was a mess and needed sorting with a wide range of varying treatments by providers. Some were covered by informal agreements made by IRD 20 years ago while many of the newer or boutique fund managers were simply accepting full GST. That leads to some distortions and complexity." That said it was obvious that we lost that in the first day because of an orchestrated campaign led by the Financial Services Council. Sometimes you know you can't win and it's best to retreat early.Nicola Willis: Has he asked his Cabinet colleagues whether following the KiwiSaver tax debacle they have reflected on James K Baxter's words in his poem "The Bay"How many roads we take that lead to NowhereThe alley overgrown no meaning now but loss?SPEAKER: In so far as the Minister is responsible.Hon DAVID PARKER: I would say the better saying would beYou've got to know when to hold 'emKnow when to fold 'em."