Source: Better Taxes for a Better Future Campaign
26 August 2026
As the two major parties run for cover, the Kiwi Tax Plan released today by Te Pāti Māori faces up to the need to rebalance our tax system to address the cost of living crisis and skyrocketing inequality, according to the Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign.
“In the midst of Labour and National trying to out-do each other in terms of how little tax they will gather, it is a breath of fresh air to see some political parties being responsible enough to address the big issues of poverty, growing income and wealth inequality, tax avoidance and profiteering by big corporates. It’s clear Te Pāti Māori is not shying away from the need to generate more revenue to fund the public services our communities need, especially in tough economic times,” said Kate Stone, Better Taxes spokesperson.
“We support a targeted wealth tax of the sort set out in the Plan. This is an important part of rebalancing our tax system so that the wealthiest are paying their fair share. However, we’d encourage Te Pāti Māori to consider other measures to tax capital gains and wealth, to ensure the integrity of their wealth tax and mitigate the risk of tax avoidance by the very wealthy.”
“The proposals to reform the income tax system and GST to reduce the impact of tax on the least well-off are consistent with the approach the Better Taxes campaign advocates for. We know that keeping more money in the pockets of those that earn the least is ultimately good for our economy, because those whānau will spend that money on the basic goods and services they need to live,” said Stone.
“More information on the Kiwi Tax Plan is needed to properly understand the impact of all the measures Te Pāti Māori propose. In particular, we’re keen to see more detail on how Te Pāti Māori plans to make up any lost revenue, so that there is sufficient revenue to invest in our public services and infrastructure – our hospitals, transport networks, public housing and social supports – that we know are critical to our whānau and help to stimulate the economy.”
“We’re interested to learn more about some of the other taxes proposed, like the International Profit Transfer Tax – we have proposed simply enforcing tax obligations on large multinationals, like the tech giants, under existing double taxation treaties. But what this demonstrates is that there’s no lack of possible solutions to fix our unbalanced tax system, our political leaders just need to have the courage to advocate for them!” said Stone.
“We are also encouraged to see the proposed increased investment in IRD. We know that their resourcing and expertise has been eroded over the last ten years and this is hampering their ability to go after some of the biggest sources of tax evasion.”
“While we’ve seen IRD clamping down on local businesses’ tax debts, big multinationals are getting away with shifting their enormous profits offshore to minimise the tax they pay here. Most Kiwis we speak to are happy to pay their taxes but they just want to know that everyone is playing by the same rules. Unless IRD can enforce those rules, Kiwis won’t be getting a fair go,” said Stone.
The full Better Taxes and Tax Justice Aotearoa policy platform is available at Better Taxes and Tax Justice Aotearoa policy platform.
The Better Taxes for a Better Future Campaign is a coalition of over 20 organisations led by Tax Justice Aotearoa.