Our Funding

We know that New Zealanders value openness and transparency and we therefore think it is important to set out how we are funded as an organisation. 

We appreciate the support of each and every one of our donors, small and large, and welcome the amazing growth in the overall number of New Zealanders who believe in our cause. When our opponents lack arguments, they often accuse us bring a ‘front’ for big money or corporates. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union was launched in 2013 on little more than an idea that there was a need for a fiscally conservative lobby group in New Zealand.

By 2016, we were pleased to have reached 4,000 supporters, by 2018 that was 14,700, 59,000 in 2020, and this year we hit 203,000. Our growth has been rapid and that is a testament to how our message of lower taxes, less waste, and more transparency has resonated with New Zealanders.

In the first few years, we relied a lot more on larger donations from a smaller number of generous donors. However, as our organisation has grown, the bulk of our donations now come from smaller contributions from our supporters of anywhere between $5 and $1,000. In 2018, small dollar donors made up 40% of our donations. In 2021, they made up over 70% and, in the year to 31 October 2022, 80.4% of our donations were small dollar. Last year, the average donation size from small donors was $181.

As our number of supporters has grown, so has the number of donors we have. Last year, over 14,000 people donated to the Taxpayers’ Union. We understand this is more individual donors than every political party in Parliament, bar one.

Our expansion in size and donations has meant that we have been able to campaign more vigorously and effectively to achieve policy wins, whether they be stopping the proposed Capital Gains Tax or opposing the Three Waters reforms that undermine local control and impose higher costs.

We do accept support and membership from private industry. In our earlier years, that represented up to about 15% of our total income. For the year to 31 October 2022, industry dues (including donations) from the alcohol, sugar, nicotine, and construction industries account for just 2.1% of our total income.

We file full financial accounts annually with the Companies Office.