About

Why New Zealand is unusual

Of the 38 OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development — a group of 38 mostly high-income countries that share economic policy and data. countries, New Zealand is the only one with no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, and no wealth tax. The result is a tax base that leans heavily on income from work, and very lightly on wealth that compounds in the background.

Why nothing has changed

Every few years a serious proposal comes along and gets quietly buried. Governments of both colours have decided taxing wealth is too politically expensive to attempt. Meanwhile a generation of Kiwis is leaving for wages that buy a life this country no longer can. Plenty of comparable economies tax capital gains, wealth, or inheritance and fund decent public services with it. That isn't radical. It's normal.

Who's behind this site

Started by me, Josh Richards 👋 a Kiwi in my late twenties, I'm not a tax expert or politician but someone who wants to see New Zealand succeed. I was inspired by Gary Stevenson from Gary's Economics who have been making the same case in the UK for years. This is the New Zealand version.

The goal

Shift the conversation. Policy follows public pressure, and right now there isn't enough of either. If you can help — writing, design, research, organising, or just sharing — get in touch at [email protected].