Tabuteau Fletcher: Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTabuteau Fletcher: Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 09 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6437. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]FLETCHER TABUTEAU (NZ First): Thank you for the opportunity to speak about the Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill. I just want to address some of the responses from the Minister for Land Information earlier in the Committee stage. I would suggest that the National Government is kind of deliberately missing the point there. This was supposed to be about a full and comprehensive register so that we could understand what was actually happening in the New Zealand home market.This draft bill is absolutely redundant as it currently stands. The Minister pointed out that this is a set piece. It is designed to be used in conjunction with other legislation before the House at the moment. New Zealand First strongly attests that even those two pieces of legislation combined will have absolutely no effect on the actual issue at hand which is a burgeoning and out-of-control Auckland housing market.The Minister talked about a multi-pronged approach and then she spoke about this being a tax-gathering exercise. She said: “We need this data so that we can gather the tax.” But the Inland Revenue Department itself has actually said that this bill combined with the other piece of legislation will serve no point whatsoever and next to no additional taxes will be collected. There will be little or no difference made whatsoever. The Minister spoke about it being necessary to simplify the current confusion around legislation but again we were told by experts in this area that this will add another level of complexity.We already have legislation that seeks to address this issue and it speaks about intent. Now we are collecting data so that we can use it to apply it to another piece of legislation which although not contrary simply confuses the issue even further. The Inland Revenue Department again has told this Government that this legislation will have no effect whatsoever.I would like to come to the point raised by many of the speakers on this side of the Chamber and that is the exclusion of the main home. We have heard from the other side of the Chamber that the reasoning for this is that it somehow adds high levels of complexity and it confuses homeowners. They might not know what is going on and they might be concerned that they are going to be taxed even though 99 percent of them it was said own their own home and they are not investors or speculators and it does not apply to them.But it was eloquently put by the previous speaker that the lack of that collection of information actually does create a big hole in the whole process because there are exemptions to the main home exemption and they are those people who are in the process of buying their second or third property. This was well pointed out—how do we know that they are up to that stage in purchasing property if we are not keeping a full and comprehensive database of all people buying residential property in New Zealand? It does not add complexity. It has been stated by experts and it has been stated by the Inland Revenue Department that it is a simple process. Most New Zealanders already have an IRD number—certainly those buying these properties do—and it will add no level of compliance cost to the whole process.I would like to add the point that our own Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand has said that the use of IRD numbers in all transactions is sensible. It does not add to the level of complexity. Mr Bayly will appreciate that that is coming from a group of experts who are telling us that it is sensible and well meaning and will serve a purpose.I will just finish off by talking about this use of the definition “the greatest connection” in section 156A(1) inserted by clause 4. I would add that this Committee by talking about the greatest connection is adding another level of complexity to what should be simple legislation. We were told about where the heart is and there was immediate rebuttal from this side of the Chamber about how you measure that. They talked about—