How the Greens' Trust Tax Would Hit Your Home and Your KiwiSaver

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has today released a new briefing paper, How the Greens’ Trust Tax Would Hit Your Home and Your KiwiSaver, revealing the policy would hit ordinary Kiwi families, not just the wealthy.

Taxpayers’ Union Policy Analyst, Austin Ellingham-Banks, said:

“The Greens say this targets the wealthy, but it’s really a tax on your home and your KiwiSaver.”

“Trusts are widely used by everyday Kiwis, including for family homes, so this quickly becomes a tax on middle-class homeownership.”

“This isn’t a tax on income, it’s a 1.5 percent annual tax on assets, regardless of whether you earn anything from them.”

“And because KiwiSaver is held in trusts, this policy would hit retirement savings too — in some cases wiping out most or all of a saver’s annual return.”

“This is a tax on aspiration and ordinary Kiwis will foot the bill.”