Gilmore Aaron: Taxation (Annual Rates Trans-Tasman Savings Portability KiwiSaver and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee 
Gilmore Aaron: Taxation (Annual Rates Trans-Tasman Savings Portability KiwiSaver and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:666;Page:13460] 
AARON GILMORE (National) 
: 
 One would think that David Parker was a Luddite in a time warp given the speech we have just heard. The bill we are talking about today is the Taxation (Annual Rates Trans-Tasman Savings Portability KiwiSaver and Remedial Matters) Bill. The bill is not about anything that that member was talking about; it is about tidying up and improving our savings environment in terms of bringing home hard-earned savings from those Kiwis who want to come back to New Zealand from Australia—and thousands have done so since the election. 
I want to talk about a couple of things: in particular two Supplementary Order Papers that have been put forward and the crazy amendment put forward by the member over there Mr Nash. In particular I will talk about the Supplementary Order Paper that has not been discussed earlier which has some nice tidy-ups around imputation credit accounts. That Supplementary Order Paper which has not been discussed here will allow the finance company restructuring that is occurring as we speak to occur in a better more efficient way to allow those imputation credits that are retained in a finance company to go with that group as that finance company restructuring occurs. They are good things that occur. They are some of the little steps that help our economy move and grow a bit faster. 
Mr Nash’s amendment is window dressing that puts in place an arrangement whereby for little overall gain to ratepayers there could be a one-off putting aside of GST. I will give an example. The average ratepayer in somewhere like Napier probably pays about $1000 in rates. So Mr Nash is talking about a $25 one-off gain to a ratepayer. Our tax cuts and changes will bring $25 per week to the average household—$25 per week. We have heard from members on that side of the Chamber that 75 percent of people earn less than $40000. Well I can tell members that in my household 75 percent of people earn less than $40000 because I am the only worker in my household. I have two children and I have a mother at home who looks after the children. Is that outrageous? No it is not. Those are the numbers those members use—they use selective numbers—to tell a story that is absolute rubbish and they know it. 
The real truth is that real after-tax wages—the wages in people’s back pockets—have been going up under National. After 9 years under Labour what did wages do? They went up by 3 percent—3 percent in 9 years. It is ridiculous. What was going on there? And what were those members saying at that stage? Nothing. 
This bill puts in place nice little changes that help our economy grow a bit faster. It allows savers to bring cash into New Zealand to invest in things that make sense. The bill does not invest billions of dollars in train sets which was an absolute disaster and made some investor in Australia richer. This bill allows Kiwis to bring home their own money and invest it more wisely in ways they see fit. That is a wonderful step in the right direction. 
We have heard Labour members talk about many savings-related issues that are not relevant to this bill. This bill is about tidying up GST and the tax system to improve savings in New Zealand and to improve our economic growth. It is not about what those members talk about which is absolutely irrelevant. I wish they would talk a bit more about what this bill does. 
Peter Dunne the Minister of Revenue has done a good job of bringing forward these Supplementary Order Papers and putting in place some changes that make the bill work more efficiently. I think that is a good thing. There was some wonderful work by the officials who listened to what people said and realised what was actually going on. Members on the other side of the Chamber do not want to argue because they do not have any answer to it—and I find that outrageous. 
This bill allows for great improvement economic growth and changes. The bill allows New Zealanders to save a little bit more of the money that they have earned overseas so that when they get out of the 747s and are home in New Zealand—like the thousands of Kiwis who have already done so and like the many members of my family who have done so—they do so because they want to live in New Zealand under a John Key - led National Government. The bill allows them to bring home their superannuation savings from Australia and invest them in New Zealand. That has to be a wonderful thing. Thanks very much.