Whaitiri Meka: Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 13 October 2015. Volume:709;Page:7171. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Kia ora Mr Deputy Speaker. Tēnā tātou e te Whare nei. I am happy to take a short call on the Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Bill. As a small-business operator in the late 1990s and early 2000s part of the obligation in my decision to go into small business or to be a small-business operator was the relationship I entered into with the Inland Revenue Department. In my time in reflecting on that period everything was done on paper. Providing monthly GST returns and provisional tax was just part and parcel of the obligations of being a small-business operator but I know things have advanced significantly over the last 15-odd years. There are many more expectations from Kiwis to be better served by the services and the relationship they establish with the Inland Revenue Department. I digress but Labour does support simplifying and improving the settings for the administration of the tax system.There have been plenty of contributions in this House on the particular provisions in this bill. If I may take the time there are two particular parts in the explanatory note that I just want to make mention of as a small contribution and one is titled “Secrecy in a co-location environment”. This bill looks at increasing efficiency and improving services and “Inland Revenue is co-locating with other Government agencies in some offices and call centres in New Zealand.” We all know that having a one-stop shop is always an efficient way to do business but the point in the particular sentence that I read out is the last part which is “call centres in New Zealand.” I do hope that the intention in the bill is for the call centres to be actually based in New Zealand. Perhaps many members have had experience dealing with call centres that are not based in New Zealand and in our tax system we need to make sure that people who are there to assist us—how do I put it—not only know the geographical challenges of our country but can deal with the way that Kiwis New Zealanders expect to be serviced through call centres. So I look at that and I hope that the proposals of the bill and those who put in submissions also support the fact that call centres for the Inland Revenue Department must be based—in my view—in New Zealand. So I hope that point is taken on board.The relevant part in the explanatory note about the secrecy in a co-location was raised by a colleague from the Green Party. It is around information sharing. We need to ensure that we have some very strong protections particularly around privacy around what is gathered and what is released. I just want to endorse the sentiments of that member who said we needed to ensure that the information sharing between the Inland Revenue Department the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and WorkSafe has some strong protocols and regulations around it to ensure that we do not share information that we should not be sharing. I guess with the recent mishaps that we have had particularly through ACC I hope that those lessons particularly are taken on board under this bill.When we examine the bill—and part of why Labour is supporting its referral to a select committee is to ensure that we are able to scrutinise all the provisions that this bill is intended to address which are intended to simplify the tax system through the select committee. We will want to ensure that small businesses throughout the country are encouraged to enter—not only those wanting to enter it but those that are already in it—a very productive relationship with the Inland Revenue Department. As all members who have contributed on this bill have said simplifying that relationship with the department will definitely go a long way to ensuring that not only do small businesses operate successfully in New Zealand but they also thrive. I commend this bill to the House.