“At the moment, the Treasury forecasting between 3 and 4%, where it is down on what they were forecasting before, but we deliberately made our estimates conservative on the basis that house prices have been slower — and, actually, slower house price growth is a good thing for New Zealand,” he said.
He also defended the CGT’s practical advantages over a wealth tax, noting that property could not be moved offshore the way financial assets could.
“Whereas, with a capital gains tax… we wouldn’t run that risk because you can’t generally tend to move your physical property,” Hipkins said.
What the parties are actually proposing
As RNZ’s tax policy overview outlines, the full suite of proposals on the table is considerably broader than Labour’s CGT.
The Green Party’s package includes a 2.5% annual wealth tax on net assets above $10 million, a 33% inheritance tax on assets and gifts above $1 million, a new 45% top income tax rate for earnings above $160,000, and a $10,000 tax-free threshold. For property investors, the key practical question under the Green inheritance tax is whether inherited investment properties would trigger a liability — the answer is yes, with family homes exempt but investment properties included.