Clark David: Taxation (Livestock Valuation Assets Expenditure and Remedial Matters) Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeClark David: Taxation (Livestock Valuation Assets Expenditure and Remedial Matters) Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 10 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:11949. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North):It is not working. The member Mr Hayes who has resumed his seat has talked about this long-term plan that the Government is putting in place to support the economy and growth through tough times—all of that. The Government has been here for 5 long years and we do not see the results. This Government still has the worst economic record of any Government in the last 50 years and that is a shocking reputation to have. No amount of spin by MrHayes is going to change that fact. If the economy is not growing and if the policies are not working carrying on with the same policy is not going to change anything Mr Hayes.Coming back to the specifics of this bill the Taxation (Livestock Valuation Assets Expenditure and Remedial Matters) Bill it is a bill that does amend the Income Tax Act. It attempts to plug a few holes here and there. There is nothing wrong with that—nothing wrong with that. It is what is not in this bill that is the most significant talking point. This bill refuses to engage with pro-growth tax reform—the kinds of things Mr Hayes was explicitly ruling out in his speech. The OECD the IMF Treasury and nearly every Western country believe that a capital gains tax is the answer to an anomaly in the tax system. It is a way to make sure that every Kiwi pays their fair share and to make sure that the investment signal is neutralised. But Mr Hayes continues on saying that his Government will not listen to the OECD. It will not listen to the IMF. It will not listen to Treasury. It will not listen to any serious economic commentator. It is determined to carry on. Mr English is there driving along the motorway—driving along the motorway—in his little clapped out 1970s Honda Civic. He is driving along and he says that everyone is going the wrong way. Everyone on the motorway is going the wrong way. The OECD is going the wrong way. The IMF is going the wrong way. Treasury is going the wrong way. They do not know what they are talking about. Every other Western country does not know what it is talking about. Mr English is the only one driving the right way on the motorway and along he goes—vroom vroom vroom! He is saying: “We will not adopt pro-growth tax reform. We want to carry on as we were. We’ve got pride. We’ve got our pride. If the economy suffers if New Zealanders suffer we don’t care; we’re going to keep driving the wrong way along the motorway.” That is where he is sitting and that is what Mr Hayes is promoting here.Well a Shearer-led Labour Government will bring pro-growth tax reform to New Zealand. We care Mr Hayes about the future of New Zealand. We care about those who are struggling. We care that the median wage has gone down under this Government in real terms and that the average New Zealand family is much much worse off than when this Government took power 5 years ago. We care that New Zealanders are struggling and that they cannot pay their power bills. We will introduce policies to make power more affordable because we recognise that it is a problem. Again this Government says that there is no problem: “Oh the system is fair. Everyone is paying a fair amount for their power prices.” That is what Mr Key says. Well New Zealanders disagree. Labour disagrees. We think that we need a plan to address these things in our country that are wrong. We will take a hands-on approach to the economy and we will address the big issues. A Shearer-led Labour Government will be out there making the changes that need to be made because that is the plan. We have a plan unlike the members opposite. We think that the matters that matter to ordinary New Zealanders need to be addressed. We are not going to stick our heads in the sand.This legislation repairs little gaps here and there in the tax system but it does not address those fundamental issues that will get our economy back on track. We know that these changes that are proposed will not close the loopholes whereby 75 percent of New Zealanders with a net worth over $50 million are not paying the top tax rate. That means that they are not declaring income over $70000. That means that the tax system is fundamentally not fair. It is not making sure that every New Zealander pays their fair share. The little guy at the bottom and the little solo mother whoever it is are paying their fair share of tax. They have got no opportunity to get around it. But many at the top end are employing the accountants necessary to avoid their obligations and are burying things in capital.It does not suit these folks here to challenge that. They have said that. Mr Hayes has said that they are not going to change that. They are not interested in pro-growth tax reform. They are not interested in a capital gains tax. They are not interested in research and development. They are content to let ordinary New Zealanders struggle whilst those who already have a lot of money protect their interests. That is where the Government’s interests lie.One of the other things that the Government has got on the table for tax reform is to start charging for clergy housing—introducing a tax on clergy housing. Yes members of the House heard it right—a tax on clergy housing. We know what that will mean. It will mean that many small struggling rural communities those who are suffering the most under this Government’s terrible policies will no longer be able to afford to have a full-time vicar or minister in their local community. Often that person is the last professional left in the community. Those vicars those ministers and those pastors in those small rural communities are often the only professionals left in town. Struggling families go to them for advice for basic legal advice or for advice on filling out forms for the Government—for all manner of things. They are not just “hatching matching and dispatching” as is the ordinary work of the vicar. They are out there supporting small communities. But many small communities will lose their vicars they will lose their ministers because this Government wants to introduce another petty tax.It introduced the paper boy tax the paper girl tax. Let us think back to that terrible Budget where the Government tried to stamp on the paper boys and paper girls of New Zealand by introducing a new tax. We have got the Government also trying to introduce a car-park tax. Well that was in this legislation until there was a popular revolt. The Government is always trying to put petty taxes on New Zealanders on ordinary struggling New Zealanders but not actually addressing the big issues not actually putting progressive tax reform in place. The Government is not willing to entertain pro-growth tax reform that the OECD the IMF Treasury and every serious economist recommends or introducing a capital gains tax that would see money flow towards the productive sector and away from the speculators. If it is not in this Government’s interests the Government will not entertain it. So we do not see it in this legislation.But those families out there in the small communities who are really hurting who are seeing the absence of jobs hit their families hardest which is a consistent feature of this Government have been given increased prescription charges by this Government. It just builds up and builds up and builds up. Those communities will not have a local minister or vicar to advocate for them if this tax on clergy housing goes ahead. They will lose those people who support their communities due to another petty tax. This Government is just after the little guy and that is a shame—that is a terrible shame.We in the Labour Party do not have any problem with the Government tightening up the tax system. We will be supporting this legislation. But we wish this Government would step up and address the big issues that would get the economy back on track that would see the kind of growth in the economy that you get under a Labour Government. I remind members of this House that over the last 50 years Labour Governments have grown the economy by 3.7 percent on average while National Governments have grown the economy by nearly a percentage point lower. This National Government is worse than most. Its record on growing the economy is the worst as we know in the last 50 years. It is worse than most. That is in part because the Government is not willing to step up and address the big issues of the day. We have the worst current account deficit in the developed world the IMF says—the worst. It is worse than that of Greece. And yet this Government does nothing about it. We see the Minister of Finance sticking his head in the sand. He is driving his clapped out 1970s Honda Civic the wrong way up the motorway saying that everybody else has got it wrong. All thosepeople in their Lexus their Toyota or their Subaru going the other way zipping past have got it wrong. The OECD—what would it know? The IMF—what would it know? Treasury—what would it know? Every other Western country—what would it know about pro-growth tax reform? Mr English in his clapped out 1970s Honda Civic going the wrong way down the motorway is convinced that he is the only one who has got it right. He will not introduce pro-growth tax reform.This Government is determined to protect the interests of the big end of town and does not seem interested in getting our economy back on track so that everyone—everyone—can get ahead so that the ordinary New Zealand family would start to see jobs being created start seeing wages go up and start seeing the kinds of incomes that they could live on to help their families get ahead which would mean that they would have the security for their future that they could save and that they could actually dream of owning a house one day. It will take a Labour Government to introduce policies likeKiwiBuild to introduce pro-growth tax reform and to bring power prices down through NZ Power. A Shearer-led Labour Government will get these policies in place and will make sure that we are addressing the big issues not these issues that we are tinkering with here in this bill. We need a Labour Government and we need it soon. Thank you.