The business and innovation policies of Election 2026, explained

All the ways the political parties want to help New Zealand businesses get their mojo back.

The American political consultant James Carville coined the immortal phrase “it’s the economy, stupid” during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign to reflect the idea that, ultimately, voters mostly care about their personal financial position; their ability to get a well-paid job and buy the stuff they want and need. 

For more than three decades, that line has played on repeat in the minds of every New Zealand politician and campaign manager. “Jobs and the economy” became such a cliché slogan for politicians that it almost lost all meaning. In this election that seems to have fallen by the wayside in favour of the eternally frustrating “cost of living”. 

Despite how they’re counted in the Ipsos issues monitor, the cost of living can’t really be separated from jobs or the economy. It’s simply a matter of money in/money out. People wouldn’t feel so stressed about the increasing prices of groceries and fuel if their incomes were keeping up. 

Annual inflation reached 4.1% in 2026, while wage growth slumped to 2.1% and the unemployment rate is 5.6%, the highest it has been since 2015. 

Total GDP growth dug itself out of the negatives late last year and now sits at 1.7% but that was largely driven by higher meat and dairy prices in the global market rather than any fundamental change in productivity.

So what are the parties offering to help New Zealand businesses innovate, grow and hire more people? 

National

National’s signature business development policy is Investment Boost, which was introduced during Budget 2025. It allows businesses to deduct 20% of the cost of any new assets such as machinery, vehicles, commercial buildings and IT systems. It doesn’t apply to residential buildings, land or secondhand assets. During the TVNZ leaders' debate, Christopher Luxon cited new snow-making equipment at Coronet Peak as an example of the kind of investment the scheme encouraged. 

When she announced the scheme, finance minister Nicola Willis estimated it would cost $1.7bn annually in reduced tax revenue and would increase New Zealand’s GDP by 1% over the next 20 years. In an Inland Revenue survey of 379 businesses, 11% said the policy had significantly increased their investment spending and 29% said it had somewhat increased their spending. However, the survey also found that many small businesses had not taken advantage of the tax deduction because they were not aware of the new scheme. 

Other proposals in National’s 47-point plan for small businesses include: a faster process for dispute resolution at the Employments Relations Authority, a streamlined service for business licensing and other government paperwork, an AI Advisory pilot with a 50% government subsidy for businesses to access expert AI consultants, and an NZTE mentorship programme to help 200 small- and medium-sized businesses reach export markets. 

Labour

Labour’s plan would scrap the Investment Boost scheme and replace it with a smaller alternative that allows businesses with annual revenue below $10 million to write off the entire cost of newly purchased assets up to the value of $10,000. That's an increase from the current low-value write-off threshold of $1,000.

Also included in Labour’s policy is a legislative change requiring large businesses to pay small suppliers within 15 days for invoices of $25,000 or less, with higher penalties for repeated late payments. Labour has also pledged to redirect $50m per year from the New Zealand Super Fund into the state-backed Elevate venture capital fund to invest in early-stage New Zealand startup companies. 

Act

Act has proposed an update to tax rules that would make it easier for businesses to deduct the costs of investment in software and IT systems. The party’s other small business policies include freezing the minimum wage for three years and reducing the training minimum wage for people under 20 from 80% of the adult minimum wage to 60%. It also wants to set a 90-day limit for employees to raise grievances with the Employment Relations Authority. Sexual harassment claims would be exempt from the change and could still be raised up to three years after the incident occurred. 

Greens 

The Green Party wants to rescope the Investment Boost scheme to incentivise “investment that aligns with industry policy objectives, decarbonisation, and decent work principles”. The policy documents the party has released do not include details about which businesses would be eligible or how much they could claim in tax deductions. The estimates the party has released suggest the scheme would be scaled back by around a third, costing $1.25bn per year in foregone tax revenue.

Broadly, the Greens want the government to take a more active role in the economy through direct hiring and public investment in “mission-led” businesses. The party’s plan would establish “mission fellowships” for early-and mid-career researchers and technical specialists, spend an additional $225m per year funding the science sector and university research institutions, and $125m on a scheme to help early-stage businesses grow and access export markets.

New Zealand First 

New Zealand First is campaigning on lowering the company tax for small and medium businesses with turnover under $30 million per year, from 28% to 20%, which the party estimates would cost about $1bn per year in reduced tax income. 

Opportunity 

Opportunity has also proposed creating a new legal structure called Impact Companies for businesses that have explicit social or environmental goals and publish annual reports accounting for these outcomes. Investors in these companies would be able to deduct the cost of investments from their tax bills similar to charitable donations, up to a maximum of $100,000 per year.

Similar to the Greens, Opportunity wants to increase funding for the science sector and would set a target to bring research and development (R&D) spend to 2% of GDP within 10 years and 3% by 2050. The party also wants to expand the R&D tax credit, allowing businesses to claim back up to 25% of the cost of high-tech investments, up from the current 15%. 

The party has also proposed to spend $20m per year towards charitable trusts that provide financial mentorship to business owners.

Te Pāti Māori 

Te Pāti Māori wants to establish a $4.5bn Oranga Whenua Oranga Tangata Fund to invest in Māori businesses, land and marae. Half of the money would come via a revolving loan against the Super Fund and half would be paid directly by the Crown. The party also wants to set a rule requiring 25% of all government procurement be allocated to businesses or organisations that are 100% Māori-owned.