Overseas shareholdings tax bill hearings start this month

Parliament's finance and expenditure select committee will begin hearing submissions on August 23 on the bill which contains controversial changes to the tax treatment of overseas shareholdings.

The committee will sit in Auckland on September 27 and 28.

It has received 1481 substantive submissions and another 2200 form submissions. In all 147 submitters have asked to be heard in person.

"Usually a tax bill gets about 50 submissions, if you're lucky," said National finance spokesman John Key.