Source: Tax Justice Aotearoa
22 October 2025 – Tax Justice Aotearoa (TJA) is criticising the attacks on tax transparency and other retrograde measures contained in the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2025–26, Compliance Simplification, and Remedial Measures) Bill, currently before the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee. The proposals to repeal s.17GB of the Tax Administration Act, which enabled IRD to conduct its groundbreaking research into High Net Worth Individuals in 2023, and to repeal specific provisions mandating the provision of information by trusts, are just two of the problematic provisions TJA is highlighting in its submission to the select committee.
“TJA strongly opposes the proposed repeal of s 17GB of the Tax Administration Act,” says Glenn Barclay,Tax Justice Aotearoa spokesperson.”The IRD research in 2023 showed that the effective tax rate of the wealthiest New Zealanders (9%) was significantly lower than the rate for average working people (20%). Removing this provision looks like an attempt to shield the wealthy and powerful from the kind of scrutiny that the rest of us are subject to, because IRD already has good information on those whose income is derived primarily through work.”
“The Government claims the repeal of s 17GB is to address privacy concerns, but officials and the Privacy Commissioner have identified additional privacy safeguards that could mitigate those concerns,” says Glenn Barclay.
In a similar vein, the Bill repeals legislative provisions mandating provision of information by trusts, which was not previously collected under the discretionary system that existed before 2020. TJA also opposes this cutback on tax transparency.
“This kind of information is critical to understanding the impacts of the tax system to inform the development of policy to address inequities,” says Glenn Barclay. “Unlike the Register of Companies there is almost no information available on who controls or might benefit from a trust and given their widespread use as a vehicle for tax avoidance we need to be strengthening rather than removing disclosure provisions here.”
TJA is also concerned about the proposal to greatly expand and accelerate information sharing between IRD and other government agencies. This change is being proposed over the Privacy Commissioner’s opposition and l has been rushed through without wide consultation.
“TJA opposes this move because, as the Privacy Commissioner points out, existing information sharing mechanisms provide appropriate protections for privacy. It would greatly widen the range of agencies which have access to individuals’ tax information. This move undermines the principle that tax information is confidential in order to encourage people to honestly report their income and other information, which is essential to protect the integrity of our tax system,” says Glenn Barclay.
“It is also hypocritical, given the Government’s professed concern for the privacy of high net worth individuals, and it risks reducing the trust people have in New Zealand’s tax system and government” says Glenn Barclay. “Concerns have already been raised about potential information sharing between IRD and Immigration NZ giving rise to exploitation of migrant workers who are not lawfully able to work in New Zealand.”
TJA also considers the “digital nomads” provisions, which allow visitors to work for a limited time while in New Zealand without being taxed here, give rise to a risk of temporary-migrant exploitation and we have proposed greater safeguards.
The Bill also proposes to exempt income from taxation when it arises from individuals generating electricity (e.g. from solar panels) on their residential properties and selling some of it to an electricity retailer. TJA points out that this potentially gives another windfall to landlords.
“While we support the proposal for ordinary residents, for landlords with multiple properties this could result in a significant amount of additional, untaxed income. This would further tip the scales in favour of housing investment. It gives a further tax break to those who already have enough wealth to own multiple properties and don’t pay tax on their income from capital gains,” says Glenn Barclay.
“The ultimate outcome would be to exacerbate the imbalance in our tax system, wealth inequality and housing unaffordability. It is simple to avoid this by putting a cap on the income from residential electricity generation and sale that is tax exempt.”
