Most New Zealanders support taxing the capital gains made on investment property but not other kinds of assets, according to a recent poll.
Ipsos NZ asked a thousand Kiwis in October whether they would support the introduction of a capital gains tax in four different scenarios.
It found 57% supported a tax on the sale of an investment property but only 43% on the sale of a business. The survey found only 13% were in favour of taxing the family home, and just 22% on taxing other assets.
Ipsos presented this result as being 65% support for a capital gain tax “in some format” although they did not appear to ask that specific question in the poll.
Support for a tax on investment properties was highest among people aged over 65 years old, many of whom will have experienced huge returns on their properties across their lifetimes.
A disproportionate number of people aged 18 to 35 supported taxing the family home, although it was still a small minority at just 22%.
If a capital gains tax were introduced, 58% of respondents thought it should be used to reduce other tax rates while 29% thought it should be used to increase the overall tax take.
The Crown currently has a structural deficit and the Government wants to cut spending or raise revenue to balance the budget and stop accruing debt.
Overall the poll does not show strong support for a comprehensive capital gains tax, but does show a willingness to increase taxes on property investments.
Labour charged a capital gains tax on any investment properties owned for less than 10 years but the Coalition has reduced that bright-line test threshold to just two years.
Labour gains
Ipsos’ monthly polls show voter concern about inflation and the cost of living has been steadily declining for the past two years but remains 55% of respondents’ top issue.
Healthcare and hospitals has risen from 31% in May to 41% in October and is now the second most important issue in the survey. This was true for both left and right leaning voters.
Another interesting result was that people aged 18 to 35 ranked climate lower in the list of issues than any other cohort in the survey.
The coalition government’s performance rating increased slightly—to 4.7/10—but the public’s assessment of the Labour Party’s capability on various issues increased significantly.
It was perceived as being the most or equally capable of managing housing, personal debt, education, drug and alcohol abuse, and immigration — whereas National led on all these issues in the prior survey.
National leads on important issues such as the cost of living, the economy, and crime. It is also seen as the more capable party on taxation, and opposes extending capital gains taxes.
See the full survey results here.
