Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Mae’n bleser gen i heddiw gyflwyno’r Bil Treth Gwarediadau Tirlenwi (Cymru) gerbron Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru i’w gymeradwyo.

Can I very briefly thank all those who’ve been involved during the passage of the Bill, a committed and expert group of officials who have provided exemplary advice throughout the development and passage of the Bill? As Members here will know, there is a small base of taxpayers in this field here in Wales in a technical, specialist area and I’ve been very grateful to them, the practitioners, for their willingness to contribute their expertise throughout the Bill’s development.

I’m especially grateful to the Assembly committees who’ve had the responsibility of scrutinising the Bill, both the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee and especially the Finance Committee and its Chair, Simon Thomas. Scrutiny has improved this Bill, Dirprwy Lywydd, from the very specific issues of how waste should be weighed or water discounts calculated to the broader matters of identifying the environmental purpose of the tax on the face of the Bill and a reference there to the communities scheme.

The next phase of work will now involve the implementation of the two taxes brought before the Assembly in the first year of this Assembly term and the formal establishment of the Welsh Revenue Authority in October, with a first meeting of the newly established WRA board.

Dirprwy Lywydd, I believe that this Assembly has taken a collaborative and constructive approach to this legislation, based on the shared desire to create fair and robust tax legislation here in Wales. In that spirit of co-operation, I hope Members will support the passage of this Bill this afternoon, the third of three Welsh tax bills.