Swain Paul: Taxation (Annual Rates of Income Tax 2007-08) Bill Taxation (Business Taxation and Remedial Matters) Bill Taxation (KiwiSaver) Bill — Third Readings 
Swain Paul: Taxation (Annual Rates of Income Tax 2007-08) Bill Taxation (Business Taxation and Remedial Matters) Bill Taxation (KiwiSaver) Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:644;Page:13783] 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Labour—Rimutaka) 
: 
 There are lots of businesses in my electorate and I will tell those businesses that the National Party voted against a tax cut for them. I will tell the businesses in my electorate that when National the so-called party of tax cuts had a chance to vote for a reduction in the corporate tax rate it voted against that—again. I am absolutely going to tell them that. 
Lots of businesses in my electorate do research and development. I have something to tell those companies which wanted a tax incentive to be provided for research and development. [ 
Interruption 
] Mr Bennett has been saying he supports a tax incentive for research and development. I will ask those companies whether they know that when the Government took legislation to Parliament that gave companies incentives for research and development Mr Bennett voted against it. I will tell them that all Mr Bennett did was to shout and scream across the House. He would not stand up and make a speech to tell people why he was voting against research and development incentives. He just shouted across the House. I will tell businesses that. 
I will tell the companies in my electorate that make charitable donations that when the Government put forward legislation to try to improve the incentives for that the National Party voted against it. 
Hon Members 
: Oh! 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Yep—National members did. They voted against incentives and improved contributions for companies which they had been calling for for some time. Pansy Wong stood in this House and said she was pleased that that would happen. I will say to those companies that when National members had the chance to vote for that they voted against it. 
Then of course I will be talking to lots of people in my electorate who have joined the KiwiSaver scheme. I will tell those people that when the Government introduced legislation to make improvements to the KiwiSaver scheme so that when they retire they will have more money in their pockets—which I thought the National Party was in favour of—the National Party voted against it. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: What? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: National voted against it. No one has given us any reason why that should be; National members just shout across the House. [ 
Interruption 
] No I did not hear anything from the National Party as to the reason for that. I think National will remove those incentives. In fact the message that is going out is simply that if people vote for National the KiwiSaver scheme is in peril. In my view it is gone if the National Party gets in. That is just a message of warning to the voters. 
Now a few workers in my electorate have been made redundant particularly at South Pacific Tyres. I will tell those workers and their families that when the Government introduced a scheme in this legislation to give them a tax rebate of 6c in the dollar on their redundancy payments the National Party voted against it. The National Party voted against a tax rebate on their redundancy payments. 
Finally there are taxpayers in my electorate who have suffered penalties—we know people who have suffered penalties. I will tell the taxpayers in my electorate that the Government listened to what they said. We said that the penalty regime was too rigid and that we would introduce a scheme to make it more flexible and more reasonable in order to encourage compliance. I will tell them that the National Party voted against that. 
National voted against tax cuts for business voted against incentives for research and development voted against improvements for companies that wanted to make donations to charities voted against increased incentives for KiwiSaver voted against a better redundancy for workers and voted against a more liberalised scheme for the penalties that taxpayers have to pay. National is a party that has only one policy: tax cuts. It is the only tax policy it has. Of course we waited during the entire debate on this legislation to hear what National’s policy was. There was not one dicky-bird not one sausage and not one mention of what the National Party was going to do. National talks about making tax cuts when it is in Opposition; it never gives them when it is in Government of course. It has talked about tax cuts for years. Here was the chance for National members to stand up and say what they were going to do and there was not one mention of that—not one dicky-bird. And when the National members had the chance to vote for tax cuts they decided to vote against them. 
I want someone to explain the reason for that. I cannot understand it. Maybe I am missing something. Maybe I am not bright enough to get the little nuances from the National Party. But I do not understand why when the National members had a chance to vote for tax cuts they voted against them. 
In conclusion all I will say is that the National Party supports tax cuts; it says it is in favour of tax cuts. But when it is in Opposition and it gets the chance to vote for tax cuts it votes against them. That is why no one will trust National on tax cuts. I say roll on next year!