Ross Jami-Lee: Taxation (Bright-line Test for Residential Land) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoss Jami-Lee: Taxation (Bright-line Test for Residential Land) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 08 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6339. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany): I am disappointed but not surprised to hear that the New Zealand First Party is not supporting this bill. I often find myself in the position where I am following Mr Tabuteau in these debates and once again I wish to correct him on his inaccuracies and the false statements he has made to this House. He is very wrong on a number of points. The heart of this bill is all about introducing greater fairness for all taxpayers and it is all about ensuring that those who are speculating on property do pay their fair share of tax. Rather than making it more complex as has been described by Mr Tabuteau it actually makes it far simpler for New Zealanders and those paying tax to understand how the system works.There has always been an intentions-based test where if one is purchasing property with the intention of trading that property for income then one should be paying tax. The difficulty is that that is very subjective. This bill is all about introducing a brightline test that makes it a lot easier for individuals to determine whether or not they should be paying tax. Should they buy and sell a property within 2 years and it is not their own home or it is not part of a deceased’s estate or a martial settlement then they should be paying tax. That is greater simplicity for all taxpayers that is a good thing for the tax system and that is why this Government supports this bill.Mr Tabuteau is wrong in his argument that the Inland Revenue Department does not want to enforce the existing rules—absolutely wrong. This Government under successive Ministers and under Bill English has put millions of dollars into enforcing the current rules. It has paid dividends for New Zealand. We have put in $33 million since 2010 to ensure that property tax compliance has increased in New Zealand and as a result we have seen $258 million of tax revenue come in. For every dollar we have put into tax compliance we have received $8 back. That is good for the Government. That is good for taxpayers. But what is more important is that we now look to having greater fairness within the tax rules and that is what this bill is all about.I also want to tackle the argument that has been proposed by Mr Tabuteau about foreign buyers. If one is to stand in this House and say that no person who is from another country and has migrated to this country should be able to buy a property—Phil Twyford: Oh don’t be an idiot. No one’s saying that.JAMI-LEE ROSS: That is what you were saying. That is what Mr Twyford has said. That is what—Phil Twyford: You fool. You’re an idiot. No one is saying that.JAMI-LEE ROSS: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have got a pretty thick skin but I take exception to that.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Yes the member—I am referring to the member who made those comments. I will ask the member to withdraw those comments. You cannot refer to another member in that manner.Phil Twyford: I withdraw.JAMI-LEE ROSS: There are people in this House who have argued for many many years now that foreigners should not be able to buy property. Well if one is to say that then they should also be honest and say that no one would be willing to come here and bring their skills to this country. No one would be willing to come here and invest and bring capital to this country. No one would be willing to come here and migrate and bring their family for investment or skills purposes because that is the reality of saying no to foreigners.This bill is about greater fairness. Attacking the Chinese attacking migrants is not the answer and if the New Zealand First Party wants to continue to go on about supposed foreigners—people who do not look like them—I would ask them to really look in the mirror and ask themselves whether when they go on the Grey Power circuit they are going to be honest with the people with the thick British accents and say that no one should be able to buy property in this country if they are not from New Zealand originally. That is not the answer to housing in New Zealand. The answer is greater fairness. The answer is greater—Phil Twyford: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The member is wilfully misrepresenting other members in this House.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): No no. Look these are debating points.JAMI-LEE ROSS: I am almost finished Mr Assistant Speaker. The answer is greater fairness. The answer is to ensure more houses are being built in New Zealand—and in Auckland particularly—and that is what this Government is doing.