Smith StuartSTUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura): Thank you Madam Speaker. Well it is a pleasure to speak on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2020-21 Feasibility Expenditure and Remedial Matters) Bill and I have some advice for the member that just took his seat Michael Wood. If he's getting a lot of feedback as he referred to earlier he should stop talking to himself in the bathroom because that seems like he was only hearing his own voice. But he also mentioned that this party is a long way from the Key and English party. And I'd say well actually things change. That's true. But the major difference between this side and that side is Ministers such as David Clark would have been gone by lunchtime. That is what leadership is about and unfortunately we're not seeing it from that side. But back to the bill.The issue about indexation which was also touched on by the previous speaker is quite an important one actually. This time that we're going into now it's going to be about confidence. It's going to be about having people spending some money because a lot of our GDP in our economy is based on consumption. And if people don't have the confidence and they don't have the cash in their pocket they won't be spending. If they are not spending then the economy won't go around. We will end up in a spiral where the lower the expenditure more jobs are lost more people on the dole or getting some other form of Government assistance. And when you are on the dole—not you Madam Speaker—but when people are on the dole or on lower incomes such as they will be they don't have the confidence to spend and invest. And then it becomes another spiral because then it just continues it downwards where we end up losing more and more jobs. And it's such a pity because tax isn't going to be what drives your economy but it has a significant impact on it.It is as I said about confidence. It is about businesses having the confidence to invest in their future as well. And given that in the OECD we have the fourth-largest tax take from companies we have one of the highest.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7. p.m.SPEAKER: The House has resumed. When we adjourned for the dinner break we were debating the first reading of the taxation bill. Stuart Smith was speaking and if he wants he can have two minutes and 44 seconds. STUART SMITH: He does indeed. Thank you Mr Speaker. Perhaps if I could recap as to where I was up to I was talking about the indexation of tax brackets and bracket creep and how if those members were to adopt the National Party policy within this bill that would put $660 million back into the system and—Brett Hudson: How much?STUART SMITH: —$660 million—Brett Hudson: Oh that would drive more spending. STUART SMITH: It would drive more spending and it would help halt the spiral downwards which I fear we are facing. However I do want to point out a really good feature of the bill which is the M. bovis tax provisions which allow the income that's received for compensation for those cattle that have had to be destroyed or killed. It gives the farmer six years to pay that tax off and I think that will be greatly appreciated not just from a financial position but Mr Speaker as you would understand there's a heck of a lot of stress and depression out there amongst those farmers. I don't mean that in a clinical sense but in the situation—SPEAKER: Well sometimes it is—yes. STUART SMITH: —well it may well be—they have found themselves in and it's a very serious matter actually. I know that in my electorate dealing with some of those people—as other provincial MPs will have had this experience—that this will really actually mean a lot to them. It's not a lot of money from the IRD's perspective but it's quite significant for those people that are involved in it and I congratulate Minister Nash for including that in the bill. I think it's really important and it will as I said be well-received. But we do have a difficult time ahead and as I said earlier before dinner the importance of confidence in the economy—confidence so that people can and will spend—is so important because in fact a big percentage of our GDP is driven by consumption and that requires people to spend some money in the local shops the local cafes and so on. What we're seeing from overseas is that while the support from Governments and from the welfare side of the economy is very much appreciated that money doesn't go around in the same way it does when people are earning money with a job and have the confidence to spend that money. How we get that confidence back is going to be quite a challenge for us all but it's my submission that actually not lowering taxes through the tax bracket relief is actually not going to help. It will harm. It will slow the economy and it should—SPEAKER: Order! The member's time has expired.