Cunliffe David: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Cunliffe David: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:627;Page:21982] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Associate Minister of Finance) 
: 
 It is sad to see a promising political career like Mr Key’s snuffed out so early. If that is the best the member can do in an appropriation speech on vote Finance the National Party is shorter of talent than I thought. With all the issues around: the global economy; oil prices; exchange rates; even one might argue the current account; what does that member come up with? The same old saw: “consultant advice”. That is the best he could do—consultant advice on tax. [ 
Interruption 
] 
That is very interesting. He disputes the fact that there have been substantial business tax cuts in this year’s Budget. The reality is that there are about $1.4 billion worth. I am happy to recite them again—fringe benefit tax thresholds raised provisional tax payments aligned with GST and an option to pay on the basis of current-year cash flows PAYE intermediaries subsidised a 6.7 percent tax discount for small businesses in their first year and so on and so forth. [ 
Interruption 
] 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable Minister but there is a barrage of interjection from my left. Of course it means that that person has an unfair advantage at the microphone. I ask the member on my left to realise that interjections are to be rare and reasonable and—I have given up on this one—hopefully witty. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: The net effect of these provisions is equivalent to roughly a 2c cut in the corporate tax rate. 
John Key 
: Rubbish. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: It is not rubbish; it is clearly substantiated by independent Treasury advice. A 2c cut in the corporate tax rate may in other cases be attractive. Why did we not do that? One reason is that a very significant proportion of corporate ownership is held internationally. Why would we give priority to a tax cut in favour of foreign owners when we could target that tax cut to hard-working New Zealand small businesses? And that is exactly what we have done. 
I should add that as part of the tax simplification process overseen by this vote the compliance costs of taxation for small businesses have fallen according to independent advice by 40 percent since that member’s party was in Government. For medium-sized businesses it has fallen by 50 percent. We are not taking a scalpel to red tape; we are taking a meat axe to red tape and the independent advice proves it. 
The fact that the worst that that member could do was to talk about consultants proves one thing: this Government has presided over one of the most substantial expansions of the New Zealand economy if not the most substantial in our history. Unemployment is at a 20-year low average growth is at a 20-year high and our average growth rate is a full 1 percent or more above that achieved by the National Party when last in Government. 
New Zealanders know as they consider the run-up to this year’s election that a vote for that party is a vote for risk and uncertainty; and a vote for the Government is a vote for prudence good fiscal management good leadership and stability. It is a pleasure and an honour to serve under Dr Cullen in this good and prudent Labour Government.