Introduced on June 22 and received its first reading on June 25. Authorises some of the measures announced in Budget 2015 around property purchases and tax rules. Under the bill any “offshore person” buying a second home would have to provide an IRD number and bank account details. This would allow IRD to track purchases and sales of real estate and tax them accordingly. The bill was sent to the Finance and Expenditure committee with a truncated report back date of August 17. Parties supported the bill but not the shortened select committee consideration. Reported back from select committee on August 14 with a number of changes, mostly around the definitions of “main home”, “offshore person”, as well as rules around exemptions and what information should be collected. Labour indicated support for the bill despite concerns it created too many loopholes while also imposing unnecessary compliance costs. Completed committee stage on Sept 9 and given third reading on Sept 10. All parties with the exception of NZ First supported though Labour and the Greens said it was ineffective and full of loopholes. The Government indicated a third bill was on the way to deal with the treatment of withholding tax on property speculation. Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill