Penk ChrisCHRIS PENK (National—Helensville): Thank you Madam Chair for the chance to follow such a comprehensive dissertation on the subject of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2018–19 Modernising Tax Administration and Remedial Matters) Bill. I'll continue in Part 2 of course but actually I'd like to draw the attention of the committee instead to flow chart 1 which—for those following along at home—is on page 62 of the bill for what that's worth. What we've got there is a flow chart which sets out the scheme of Subpart 3B. That seems to me a very helpful bit of drafting because it sets out with great clarity and simplicity the way that a person—and I'll qualify that word person" in a moment—can regard their obligations in terms of whether they qualify and in relation to their pre-populated accounts and so forth. Others have mentioned some of the detail around the pre-populated accounts so I won't trouble the committee further with any of that now. The way that this is set out does I think allow individuals to know how the law might apply to them and for that reason it seems to go to the rule of law's emphasis on accessibility of the law. It's axiomatic I suppose that those who have the ability to understand the law have some sort of chance of complying with it and certainly if we're to say that ignorance of the law is no excuse then we owe it as a legislature to provide information that's reasonably understandable to them. So it is that what we have in the first instance is a question mark next to the word "individual" and we have an opportunity to say that yes a person's an individual or no they're not. For a bit more guidance than is able to be provided in a single cell within a flow chart we've got the meaning of "individual" just across the page—as it happens conveniently enough under the new section 22D heading of "Key terms" which of course provides definitions as you would expect including for "individual". That one itself is actually quite interesting so I'll just pause briefly to note that it means a natural person as opposed to a legal person who's not a natural person noting that every natural person is a legal person but not every legal person is a natural person. "Natural person" here includes the "natural person who is non-resident" meaning of course in relation to tax residency but it excludes a deceased natural person. Hon Shane Jones: How many of them in National are natural?CHRIS PENK: I'm sure it's occurred to everyone in this committee that a deceased natural person isn't in fact a natural person. I'm hearing from some unnatural persons at the moment but I'll avoid being derailed by them because of course the deceased—CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Don't rise to the bait Mr Penk.CHRIS PENK: Good advice Madam Chair. I'll be sure to take it. So a deceased natural person is of course not a natural person at all. But in any case for the sake of clarity the bill sets that out—again clarity and simplicity being a good thing in the law. I think we can safely move on from there. The flow chart that I've been referring to with some degree of approval includes a number of different options where we've got yeses and noes to answer certain questions if we've determined that an individual is indeed an individual and that they are a qualifying individual. Again that definition is given and I won't trouble the committee with any belabouring of that point. We then talk about the amount of income they might have and the implications for whether a person has a pre-populated account that is correct or not.There are more layers to this than an onion and I draw on the great economic philosopher Shrek who noted that onions have many layers and that also in accordance with his sidekick Donkey's advice they make one's eye water. I think that the structure of this flow chart should have both qualities as well. Hopefully this speech is not having the same effect although I fear that it may. Looking then at various other elements of the flow chart one that I did want to highlight for the committee's attention and in particular in the hope that Minister Faafoi might be able to turn his mind to it perhaps with the assistance of officials is the phrase "default assessment". It's somewhat in the middle of the flow chart—or the onion if you will—in the middle of those layers there. The word "default" I think in this context means the presumptive assessment—the assessment that would apply unless there is some sort—[Bell rung]"