Leader of the Opposition

MEDIA STATEMENT

13 May 2016

Govt in disarray over foreign trust secrecy

The Government has shown itself to be in disarray over the foreign trusts issue with Judith Collins contradicting John Key over the need for more transparency around foreign ownership, Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little says.

“After weeks of the Prime Minister claiming our foreign trust industry has full disclosure of ownership and saying for years that there is no need for a register of foreign land sales, Judith Collins has told the world that National is investigating changes to stop people hiding their assets.

“Last month John Key said New Zealand has full disclosure of information. This morning Judith Collins said ‘the fact is that there is a problem’. Only one of these statements is correct.

“Her commitment to investigating a public central register of who the beneficial owners are of assets including property puts her at odds with the Prime Minister.

“This is an apparent u-turn, delivered to a foreign audience thousands of miles away presumably so the Government can pretend it is doing something about our reputation as a tax haven.

“It also undermines the Government’s recent house data, with Collins admitting it doesn’t show how much land is being bought by foreigners.

“Our international reputation has been damaged by the Government refusing to end the secrecy around the mega-wealthy who use our tax system to hide their wealth and not pay tax.

“John Key must now tell New Zealanders what the real policy is. They deserve better than this,” Andrew Little says.

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