Hayes John: Taxation (Personal Tax Cuts Annual Rates and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Hayes John: Taxation (Personal Tax Cuts Annual Rates and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:647;Page:16304] 
JOHN HAYES (National—Wairarapa) 
: 
 I rise to support this bill because it is a down payment on future tax cuts. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Oh that’s a good line. 
JOHN HAYES 
: But I want to explain to “Ms Raucous” in the back row that she will get no tax from most of my hill and sheep country farmers because they are not earning sufficient money to pay taxes this year. I had an email from a farmer stating: “I spent $50000 buying in feed for my farm. I’ve had to sell all my cows and my calves I’m going to have no winter income I’ve worked my arse off”—that is what he said—“and where am I? Worse off than I was a year ago.” He stated: “I’ve got no money and I’ve got a huge overdraft of $300000.” Why are we in this situation? Because this Government is spending far too much money. It is taking too much money from the community and spending it on unproductive programmes like the $600 million for the foreign ministry. Labour should go and campaign on that; it will give Labour lots of votes I am quite sure. 
I find it very disappointing that in this bill there is no long-term framework. There is no coherence about what these cuts will feed into. It is astonishing that the 33c tax rate is not changing and even more astonishing that the 39 percent rate is not changing. There needs to be a vision whereby these cuts feed into a long-term programme that is coherent. There needs to be a 5 or 10-year programme of tax cuts and our country and our community need goals to aspire to. They need to know where we are going. It is critically important that we have buy-in from our communities for a programme of coherent tax cuts. I welcome this bill in so far as it provides a down payment but it does not fit into anything bigger. It is a total adhockery intended to buy votes in this next election. 
What does this bill articulate about what the Government is trying to achieve? Nothing! Tax should be about taking just enough money from the community to drive this country—to provide for our collective self-administration. But this Government is trying to use the tax system to reduce poverty it is trying to use it to reduce income inequality and it is trying to provide compensation for rampant rises of petrol—$2 a barrel now—and blocks of cheese at $18. It is trying to compensate for increasing power prices and it is trying to incentivise savings. Those members need a reality check. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: It’s $200 a barrel. 
JOHN HAYES 
: Sorry $2 a litre. This Government needs a reality check. The tax system in this country cannot deliver all of these things and nor should it. I think there is no fairness in this system that the Government is imposing on our community. Why should a family on $80000 a year with two children pay 14 times the amount of tax as a similar family on $45000? Where is the fairness in that? Why should the family on $80000 pay 14 times the tax to this Government that a family with two children on $45000 does? There is no fairness there—no fairness whatsoever. This is a very poorly thought-out bill. It is total adhockery. 
This country is in trouble because this Government has relied on taxing heavily the incomes of a few mobile people and what are those people doing? They are marching with their feet to Australia. Day by day we have never had such a big outflow in this country—79000 people in the past year. They are voting with their feet. Why are they doing that? Because they are paying too much tax. 
I have to say that this bill is a start. It is a down payment but it is not a coherent programme of long-term tax cuts and that is what a National Government will deliver to the people of this country. We need to cap Government spending; it is outrageous that we are going to take $600 million and spend it in the foreign ministry area.