Seymour DavidDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Thank you very much Mr Chair. I just wanted to update members with a bit of progress. Not only have I imagined an amendment that would index tax brackets to inflation under this bill but I've made one materialise. It's on the Table. If members would like to see it it's on the Table. It's a pretty eloquent piece of drafting and there will actually now be an opportunity to vote on this amendment.Hon Tracey Martin: What nice handwriting.DAVID SEYMOUR: Well I always said if you want an MP with nice handwriting vote for the other guy. But the critical thing is that this actually—Hon Ruth Dyson: Paul Goldsmith said that too.DAVID SEYMOUR: Oh there's a bit of comedy in all of us isn't there Ruth Dyson?In any case I'd just like to take members through my amendment because it's actually important to taxpayers. It replicates clause 21 in the current bill before us. That clause of course allows by Order in Council the Governor-General to index the thresholds for the Best Start benefit. This will do the same thing for schedule 1 Part A section 1 table 1 column 2 of the Income Tax Act and that is the infamous table that tells you how much tax you must pay at which amounts of income. What the amendment would simply do is allow the Governor-General instructed presumably by the Minister of Finance to change those thresholds by an amount corresponding to movement in the New Zealand Consumers Price Index that has not already been taken into account rounded up to the nearest whole dollar. This is not actually a requirement—I've drafted this in a way that might get some sympathy from the Minister. This is not actually a requirement for the Minister of Finance to adjust tax thresholds to inflation but what it does is it gives him the statutory enablement to be able to make such a change. Currently he'd have to legislate.This gives the Minister of Finance more power if he wishes to use it. For example the Minister of Finance might find himself in a time of deflation and he might wish to be able to lower tax thresholds to protect Crown revenue. It could work both ways. There's a lot of commentary around the world that we may be going into a deflationary period. Who knows? This amendment will fortify the Minister's revenue against that turn of events but it's much more likely that he will be able to use it to raise tax brackets so that people on lower incomes don't get pushed into higher tax brackets by inflation through no fault of their own whatsoever. Now again it's not a requirement. It's not an obligation on the Minister. It is an enablement. It means that the Minister will be able to stand up in this House and tell people whether or not he has used this power to give taxpayers much-needed relief at any time.If he feels that he is able to justify his position in this House in a democracy then he'll be able to do it but he'll no longer be able to hide behind the fact that he has no power to change tax thresholds because this amendment will give him the power. He will be able to choose what sort of Labour finance Minister he will be. Will he be a We won. You lost. Eat that!" finance Minister such as Michael Cullen with scant regard for the welfare of the taxpayer or will he be a legendary liberator such as Sir Roger Douglas? It's going to be difficult for the Minister because he has such a wide heritage to draw upon and I want to help him make that choice with this enabling amendment which will enable the Minister to be in control of tax thresholds. He'll be able to adjust them by making a phone call to the Governor-General—just call up Patsy any time and say "I'd like you to protect taxpayers by"—Hon Tracey Martin: I don't think you can refer to the Governor-General like that. You can't refer to the Queen's representative like that.DAVID SEYMOUR: Under this amendment he will. He'll be able to protect taxpayers from inflation the same way that he's protected beneficiaries of this bill.So that is the question for the Minister. If he's not prepared to stand up and answer the question—will he support an amendment that requires him to protect taxpayers from inflation?—will he at least allow an amendment that enables him to do so? Members the amendment is on the Table."