Lees-Galloway IainIAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North): I would like to pick up where my colleague Stuart Nash left off. Part 1 of this bill of course relates to the annual rates of income tax for the 2016-17 tax year. Those who are observant will notice that we are getting close to the end of the 2016-17 tax year which demonstrates the shambles that this Government finds itself in that it is retrospectively legislating for the tax year that is just about finished. I was interested to look at what proportion of the overall tax take income tax actually makes up because as Stuart Nash was pointing out there was that tax shift between income tax rates. There was the lowering of the top personal tax rate which of course is 33c in the dollar—that was brought down from 36c to 33c in the dollar—and that was offset by an increase to the rates of GST. The most recent data that I could find goes back to 2013-14 and if this is inaccurate because times have moved on—if things have changed since then it would be helpful if the Minister could respond to this. But back in 2013-14 income tax which this Part 1 sets and is setting retrospectively made up 41 percent of the overall tax take and it is the largest proportion of the overall tax take which means you know we rely very very heavily on salary and wage earners—working people—to pay the largest chunk of the overall tax take.Of course we have no wealth taxes in New Zealand. We have personal income taxes and we have corporate taxes withholding taxes GST and indirect taxes and levies such as ACC fuel excise taxes etc. We have no wealth tax and that means that we demand an awful lot of working people—people who are on those moderate incomes paying maybe the 30 percent rate—to make up 41 percent of the overall tax take. And of course 33 percent of the overall tax take comes from GST which is again predominantly paid by ordinary working people when they go to the supermarket and buy their groceries.So when this Part 1—clause 3 here in Part 1 of this bill—reaffirms the personal tax take it reaffirms this Government's demand of working people to pay the vast majority of taxes. Corporate taxes make up only 13 percent of the overall tax take. So when this Government reduces the top tax rate and increases the GST rate what it is actually doing is increasing the burden of the tax take on ordinary families. They are those who are struggling just to make ends meet those who used to be able to afford to buy a house but for whom that is becoming an unrealistic dream and those who just want to be able to put food on the table for the kids who just want to be able to pay the rent and who want to be able to pay the power bill the gas bill etc. Those are the people who are paying the bulk of taxes in New Zealand because the rates of personal income tax as set by clause 3 of this bill back in 2013-14—it may be more or it may be less now but I do not know; the Minister would probably be able to enlighten us on that—make up 41 percent of the overall tax take alongside 33 percent of GST.And of course a sizable proportion of that is made up from secondary tax. Secondary tax had its place when people were predominantly working in one job. But these days we do see more and more people working multiple jobs working part-time being on contract work and what have you or maybe receiving a benefit and working a few hours a week and that attracts secondary tax often for people who have the least and who struggle from week to week to be able to pay the bills and make ends meet. That is why secondary tax really has become a thing of the past and a Government that was progressive and forward-thinking would have its eyes firmly fixed on removing that secondary tax take. I think I will conclude my contribution at that point.