As tax debates storm the election stage, what is the public mood on capital gains, land value and bed taxes? And do we think we’re being taxed too much or too little?

New Zealanders are warm on the idea of wealth tax, cool on land value tax, and more evenly split on capital gains tax. Those are the findings from new polling for The Spinoff by Ipsos, released ahead of the final Issues Monitor before the 2026 election. 

The monitor has shown cost of living towering above other concerns since 2022, and that is reflected in individuals’ views about their personal tax contributions, with just one in 25 respondents saying they should be paying more tax.

On this question, it is essentially a tie between those who think they should be paying less tax (45%) and paying about the right amount (44%) 

The numbers shift slightly for age. Among those under 50, 48% think they should be paying less tax, while 39% of those 50 and over feel that way. But the 50-plus cohort don’t on the whole think they should be paying more – 52% say they’re coughing up the right amount and 4% think it’s not enough, compared with 38% and 5% for the under-50s.

Of those earning more than $100,000 a year, 6% think they should pay more tax and 41% think they should pay less. Narrow in on those on an income over $160,000, however, and 8% say they should pay more tax, with 36% saying they should pay less (note: the sample size on $160k-plus is 166).

Views on taxes

In this cost-of-living election, the National Party has doggedly focused on tax, an issue on which it clearly believes Labour is vulnerable. The campaign is heavy on the pledge that National will introduce no new taxes while Labour and its potential coalition partners are collectively proffering many more. 

Labour, for its part, has ruled out adding any new taxes beyond the capital gains tax it announced as policy in October last year. 

Asked whether they supported the introduction of a capital gains tax (defined in the Ipsos survey as a “28% tax on any profit made when a commercial or residential property – excluding the family home – is sold after 1 July 2027″), 45% were in favour, 40% against, and 16% said don’t know. 

Also on the survey list was a wealth tax – an approach the Greens support – defined as “a 2.5% tax on an individual’s net assets above $10 million with an exemption for family homes”.

A healthy majority, 64%, supported the introduction of such a tax, with 26% against the idea and 10% answering don’t know.

The group most sceptical about a wealth tax, believe it or not, is those earning $160k or more a year. But there was nevertheless a majority backing it, with 54% supporting such a move and 39% opposing.

Respondents were similarly asked about a land value tax, as favoured by the Opportunity Party, and defined for respondents as “an annual tax on the unimproved value of all urban land set at 1.75% and on rural land set at 0.5%”. 

Here, 24% supported its introduction, with 50% opposing and 26% don’t knows. 

Support was markedly higher among people under 50. Here the net support was -15 (28% for, 43% against). For people over 50, it was net -38 (20% for, 58% against).

What about the so-called bed tax, backed by Wayne Brown and other mayors but snuffed out by National? Asked about “a 2.5% to 3% charge on visitor short-term stays (like hotels and bed and breakfasts) to fund regional tourism infrastructure and major events”, 48% were in favour, 36% opposed, and 16% said dunno. 

Finally, a commuter tax, or “charge to commuters entering city centres during rush hour which may range from $4 to $7 a day”, got resoundingly rejected in this poll, with just 22% in support, 62% against, and 10% don’t know.

Sentiment on tax and spend does not always conform with economic gravity. Poll results by Freshwater for The Post published this week showed 41% of respondents want tax cuts as well as more spending on health.

Fieldwork was run from September 3-11, 2026, the sample size was n=1,003, New Zealanders aged 18 and older representing the adult New Zealand population. Quotas were set to ensure representativeness, accurate to + / – 3.5 percentage points.