Williams Andrew: Taxation (Annual Rates Returns Filing and Remedial Matters) Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Williams Andrew: Taxation (Annual Rates Returns Filing and Remedial Matters) Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 25 October 2012. Volume:685;Page:6246. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
ANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First) 
: 
 I take a call on behalf of New Zealand First for the third reading of the Taxation (Annual Rates Returns Filing and Remedial Matters) Bill. As I have said in the House in the two previous readings perhaps we would not be tinkering around the edges with these tax matters had the National Government not provided the several billions of dollars of tax deductions and reductions to the wealthy individuals in this country 2 years ago—the very wealthy individuals like the head of Telecom who got $5000 a week back in his pay packet in tax reductions the Prime Minister who got $1000 a week back in tax reductions a couple of years ago and many many other very well-heeled individuals in New Zealand who got many thousands of dollars per week back from their PAYE—in terms of National giving the incentives to its mates. As a result of giving those billions of dollars away 2 years ago—and we continue to feel the pinch across New Zealand in many areas—the Government now of course is having to look at every last cent in the tax take to try to balance the books including as we saw just a few months ago picking the pockets of the young schoolboys and schoolgirls in this country delivering newspapers and leaflets to get $14 million in tax revenue back from those young children in order to try to cover the Government’s other imbalances. 
This bill is about more than just some of that tinkering of the taxes. The main thing I see in this is actually a concession from the Government that it was wrong on the KiwiSaver scheme. Two years ago it reduced employer contributions from 4 percent to 2 percent; it is now admitting that that was a huge error on its part. This bill moves those employer contributions back up to 3 percent—not all the way back to where they were several years ago but it is a big improvement to get them back up to 3 percent. I was just looking at some comparisons today and I note that in Australia employer contributions are 9 percent. We do wonder at times why they are doing so much better in Australia. Why are they saving far more money in Australia? Why are people generally better off in Australia? Why are those who retire in Australia on a higher average standard of living and seem to be that much more comfortable? 
John Hayes 
: No they’re not. 
ANDREW WILLIAMS 
: Well they are. They certainly are and that is why more New Zealanders are going to Australia as well—to try to get on to the Australian bandwagon. You can understand why when the Australian Government sees fit to have its laws such that employers contribute 9 percent to its scheme while this Government 2 years ago was so miserable as to reduce our employers’ contributions from 4 percent to 2 percent. 
Again what did it do that for? It did it to help out its mates. There would have been pressure from Business New Zealand—you know its old mates at Business New Zealand—from the chambers of commerce from the Employers and Manufacturers Association and from all its usual mates who would have said: “Oh! We need some help here guys. We helped get you into Government. We helped put you on to the Treasury benches. We helped put you there. We helped give you the BMW limousines. So it’s time for you to give us something back.” So the Government did. Two years ago it gave those employers the opportunity to reduce their contributions to the future of New Zealanders’ savings from 4 percent to 2 percent. And now it admits in this House today—and the third reading finally confirms it—that it was wrong and employer contributions are going to go back up to 3 percent. Not all the way because National can never ever admit that it is fully wrong but it has to admit and concede in this case that it got it wrong on that occasion. That was an own goal in terms of that. 
Other aspects of this bill include changing the tax deductions in respect of software that goes wrong. I guess the Government is probably doing that for its mates as well because there are bound to be people such as Dotcom and Hollywood people and all sorts of people who will benefit. If the Government invests in software—and software is very much part of the IT economy much of which is involved in Hollywood movies and in doing things in terms of Megaupload and all sorts of other things—I am sure that again it will be helping its mates to ensure that if something goes wrong with their software it will be tax deductible. It will be tax deductible so they will not have to go down. I guess somebody in that industry has got into the Prime Minister’s ear or Bill English’s ear or somebody’s ear and said: “Hey give us a hand. You helped the employers 2 years ago when you knocked back the KiwiSaver employer contributions. How about giving us a hand in the software industry as well?” So there is another thing—and do not worry because the paper boys and the paper girls in this country have helped with their $14 million to help subsidise those IT companies to do that. 
But there are lots of other little things in this bill that basically do not mean a lot. There are things such as conferring charitable status on a few charities. Well that is great but again it is just tinkering around the edges. The bill prevents liquidators and receivers from switching the basis on which they account for clients’ GST obligations. It also means that things like Working for Families entitlements are removed from having to file a tax return. It also requires taxpayers who choose to file a tax return to file in all the 4 previous years. They cannot just cherry-pick the particular years when they want a tax rebate and not other years when they are owing tax. 
New Zealand First will support this bill because in the main there are things in this that are required to help sort out our tax system. It does not go far enough. New Zealand First still believes that our whole tax system does need a complete review and it does need an overhaul. It needs an overhaul in terms of what will benefit all New Zealanders—every one of us not just the mates of the National Government. So New Zealand First will be supporting this bill in this third reading.