Which Labour tax policy should Kiwis believe?
The tax policies being championed by Labour candidate and aspiring finance spokesperson Craig Renney raise serious questions about how far Labour plans to go on tax if it wins the election, National Campaign Chair Simeon Brown says.
“Chris Hipkins says Labour’s Capital Gains Tax is narrow and targeted. However, Craig Renney, one of Labour’s most influential economic policy voices, continues to advocate for something much broader while currently a candidate for Labour.
“Given Labour still hasn’t explained its $18 billion hidden bill, their tax policies are looking flimsier by the day - especially for a party with a history of flip-flopping on taxes.
“Since being selected as Labour’s candidate for Wellington Bays, Mr Renney has continued advocating for radical changes to New Zealand’s tax system that go far beyond what Chris Hipkins has publicly proposed.
“The latest example is the Council of Trade Unions’ Briefing to the Incoming Government, released earlier this month while Mr Renney was its Director of Policy. It states ‘The starting point is to introduce a comprehensive capital gains tax. But broader tax reform is also required.’ It goes on to say that funding public services will ‘necessarily’ involve increasing tax revenue.
“Similarly, in his 2025 book, released after he became a Labour candidate, Mr Renney advocated for a Capital Gains Tax that is significantly broader than the one Labour is now campaigning on.
“Chris Hipkins continues to insist Labour’s Capital Gains Tax will be ‘narrow’ and ‘targeted’. But that is clearly not the approach Craig Renney is presently advocating for. So when does Labour’s ‘narrow’ and ‘targeted’ Capital Gains Tax become ‘broad’ and ‘comprehensive’? How big does Labour’s hidden bill need to be before they come for the family home?
“Craig Renney isn’t some obscure Labour candidate whose views can be dismissed. He sits on Labour’s Policy Council and has spent years shaping Labour’s tax and economic policy.
“Yet he is now standing for a party that apparently opposes many of the tax policies he continues to staunchly support.
“Does Craig Renney genuinely support Chris Hipkins’ narrow Capital Gains Tax? Or does he expect that, if Labour wins, he will take the opportunity to push Labour towards the broader tax agenda he wants to inflict on Kiwis?
“Labour still has an $18 billion gap between what it has promised and what it has explained how it will pay for. Given Craig Renney’s record, voters are entitled to ask whether Chris Hipkins has really rejected that broader tax agenda, or whether he is simply waiting until after the election to tell them about it.”
