33% inheritance and gift tax over $1 million

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Pitched as making "the super-rich" pay their share so 96% of New Zealanders can get an income-tax cut, the Green Party's capital acquisitions tax would put a 33% levy on large inheritances and gifts.

The Policy: Green Party Tax and Wealth Policy — June 2026 →

This page describes a party policy neutrally; the figures and quotes below are attributed to their sources, and "inheritance tax" is a contested label rather than a verdict.

What it does:

Applies a 33% "capital acquisitions tax" on inheritances or gifts received above $1 million, with the tax paid by the person *receiving* the windfall, not the estate or the giver.
Exempts the family home, family farms and transfers of Māori land under Te Ture Whenua Māori; the party says the 33% rate matches the rate already applied to trust and deceased-estate income.
Would hit about 1,100 people a year and raise roughly $953 million in 2027/28, rising to about $1.1 billion by 2030/31 (around $4 billion over four years).
Helps fund a new $10,000 tax-free income threshold and a 45% top rate over $160,000, the income-tax cut the Greens say leaves 96% of people better off.
Sits inside a wider package the Greens themselves scaled back from the $88 billion 2025 "Green Budget" to about $32 billion over four years, lifting the companion wealth-tax threshold from $2m to $10m.

The result: This is an unlegislated opposition pledge for the 2026 election, not law, and it faces a hard parliamentary path. Co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson frame it as tackling "inequality and corporate greed" so the country can fund healthcare and education, per the party's launch. Critics are prominent and bipartisan: Finance Minister Nicola Willis called an inheritance tax among the cruellest things a state can do to a grieving family and "a kick in the guts to aspiration", and National campaign chair Simeon Brown branded the wider plan "economic lunacy". Crucially for the Greens' own side, Labour leader Chris Hipkins has ruled out backing an inheritance or wealth tax, preferring a capital gains tax, meaning the policy could not pass even under a Labour-led government as drafted. Credibility took an early knock when the Greens corrected an $800m costing error that Swarbrick called a "typo", after economist Brad Olsen confirmed IRD running costs had been added to revenue instead of subtracted.

The impacts to watch:

Avoidance and timing: Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker notes the design invites estate planning and "gifting" before death and argues "capital acquisitions tax" may be a re-brand of a politically toxic idea.
Farm and asset lock-in: Hipkins warns thresholds could leave the next generation of farmers locked out despite the farm exemption, a fairness concern shared across parties.
Overlap risk: Infometrics flagged that the wealth tax and inheritance tax could double-count some assets, adding uncertainty to the revenue estimate.
Coalition maths: with Labour opposed, the policy's real test is whether the Greens could ever extract it in a post-election negotiation.

This overview is summarised by AI from public sources. It may contain errors and is a guide, not the definitive record — we welcome corrections.

❓ Our Questions — you decide

Where our research raises a question the policy doesn't answer, we put it to you — these are our questions, not government policy. Your vote stays anonymous even when you sign up (we use sign-up only to send you more things to vote on that you care about), and we report aggregated results only — the country's sentiment, never how any individual voted.

Should a 33% inheritance tax only apply once tighter rules exist to stop people avoiding it by gifting assets before death?

Should the family farm exemption be widened if it turns out to still lock some family members out of taking over the farm?

Should New Zealand introduce a tax on inheritances and gifts worth more than $1 million?

Should the family home and family farms be exempt from any inheritance tax?

Should the person who receives an inheritance pay the tax, rather than the estate?

Key milestones

Jun 2026official

Greens launch 33% inheritance and gift tax

The Green Party unveiled "A tax system for all of us", proposing a 33% capital acquisitions tax on inheritances and gifts received above $1 million, paid by the recipient, with the family home, family farms and Māori land transfers exempt. Co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson pitched it as funding an income-tax cut for 96% of New Zealanders.

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ↗

Jun 2026news

RNZ sets out who pays and what it raises

RNZ reported the detail: the 33% tax falls on the person receiving an inheritance or gift over $1 million, not the estate, and the party says the rate matches that on trust and deceased-estate income. It would affect about 1,100 people a year and raise roughly $953 million in 2027/28, rising to about $1.1 billion by 2030/31, alongside a companion wealth tax and corporate tax rise.

RNZ ↗

Jun 2026news

Greens correct an $800m costing error

Within a day the Greens revised their package after a mistake added IRD running costs to revenue instead of subtracting them, cutting projected net revenue by about $800m over four years. Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick called it a "typo"; economist Brad Olsen, who reviewed the plan, confirmed the underlying tax revenue still added up. The inheritance-tax figures themselves were unchanged.

RNZ ↗

Jun 2026news

Government attacks the plan as anti-aspiration

Finance Minister Nicola Willis called an inheritance tax among the cruellest things a state can impose on a grieving family and "a kick in the guts to aspiration", while National campaign chair Simeon Brown branded the wider package "economic lunacy". ACT's David Seymour framed it as "tall poppy syndrome". The Greens defended it as asking the very wealthiest to contribute fairly.

NZ Herald ↗

Jun 2026news

Labour rules out backing it

The biggest obstacle came from the Greens' likely coalition partner: Labour leader Chris Hipkins said his party would not support an inheritance or wealth tax, warning of "unintended consequences" and farm thresholds that could lock out the next generation of farmers. Labour prefers a targeted capital gains tax, meaning the policy could not pass as drafted even under a Labour-led government.

1News ↗

Jun 2026news

Analysts: defensible design, real avoidance risk

Independent analysis was mixed. Political scientist Natalia Albert called the inheritance tax one of the more defensible parts of the plan, praising that the policy spells out with examples exactly who pays. Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker cautioned that exemptions invite estate planning and "gifting" before death, and argued "capital acquisitions tax" reads as a re-brand of a politically toxic idea.

interest.co.nz ↗

Jun 2026

What people are saying

Reaction splits sharply between those who see a fair tax on inherited wealth and those who call it a "death tax" that punishes families and farms.

See the conversation:

Aggregated — individual posts are not cited.

Sources

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