Tremain Chris: Taxation (KiwiSaver and Company Tax RateAmendments) Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Tremain Chris: Taxation (KiwiSaver and Company Tax RateAmendments) Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:639;Page:9476] 
CHRIS TREMAIN (National—Napier) 
: 
 Before getting into the guts of the bill I will just respond to Marian Hobbs across the other side of the Chamber. She is a member for whom I have a lot of respect and time. She told us a very nice story about her family and about how they had learnt to save after the Depression and put away every dollar. But that is kind of rich coming from a member of a Government that for the last 7 years has spent an additional $20 billion—$20 billion. This year in this Budget—I am not talking about saving—another $3.8 billion is being spent. I just think the member needs to take that into account before lecturing members on this side of the Chamber about saving. 
I also apologise to the Chair Clem Simich for the disparaging remarks from Mr Jones earlier on about my colleague David Bennett and various hair creams needed. I trust Mr Chair that you did not take that personally. I am just apologising on behalf of Mr Jones. 
I want to take a short call and address the Minister in the chair today Mr Dunne. I have three questions for him; I would like him to take a call and come back to me on them. The first issue concerns the tax cut for companies and more important the businesses in this community that will not achieve that tax cut. They will be lumped with a cost on their businesses. There are three areas I want the Minister to address if he takes a call. There are 118000 small to medium sized enterprises that are not corporatised but that are sole traders or partnerships. They will not get a reduction in the tax rate but they will have to meet the employer contribution. I understand that there is a $20 credit for each employer and that that covers only up to $500 per week. But the average wage in this country is not $26000; it is $45000. How are we going to sell this policy to those 118000 small to medium sized enterprises?—I am sure there are a number of them in the Ohariu-Belmont electorate and certainly many in the Napier electorate—because they will get an increase in costs. 
The next area I would like the Minister to take a call on concerns exporters. I spoke to the Minister previously about a number of the exporters in the Napier electorate who at this point in time are not making a dot. They are faced with an economic climate in which it is very difficult for them to make a dollar. They will not have a tax cut but will be faced with the additional costs above $500 per week of an employer contribution. That cost will rise by 1 2 3 and 4 percent over 4 years so it will be an additional 4 percent cost on their businesses. The Minister Mr Cullen told us that it is not a problem and that those costs will be negotiated as part of ongoing wage rounds. The problem is that the policy has become compulsory now not optional. It is negotiable when it is an optional policy but as soon as it becomes non-optional policy it will be off the negotiating table. 
We need to answer to the 118000 businesses I talked about to exporters and to all those other businesses that have large labour costs that are much higher than their profit margins. For the majority of businesses in this country—as Mr Woolerton knows—the cost of labour is way higher than the profit at the bottom. On the one hand the Government is saying that there will be a 3 percent cut at the bottom—if the business is making a profit then that is good—but why a 4 percent increase over 4 years in the top line of expenses? I cannot see how that is a benefit to those businesses. I ask Minister Peter Dunne to take a call and let this side of the Chamber know how that sting in the tail will benefit those businesses I have talked about today.