National Pledges No New Taxes if Re-Elected, Rules Out Bed Tax and Bank Tax
The National Party is promising no new taxes if re-elected in November 2026, with Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis confirming the party would continue investing in front-line services while committing to no additional levies or charges on taxpayers.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had previously spoken publicly about three possible new taxes under National: a bed tax, a bank tax, and a fuel excise increase. The announcement on 23 August ruled out the first two but was silent on the third — leaving the fuel excise question unresolved.
National has scrapped the idea of an accommodation levy on short-term rentals such as bed and breakfasts. Willis said a bed tax would only hurt those booking weekends away, and the party would instead look at existing mechanisms to help councils cope with tourism costs. The party had also ruled out a bank tax outright.
Willis framed the pledge as a point of contrast with Labour, saying the opposition had left the door open to introducing more taxes than its proposed capital gains tax. Luxon said taxes would be a "defining theme" of the election.
The partial nature of the announcement is worth noting. By ruling out the bed tax and the bank tax but not addressing the fuel excise increase, National has left a live question on the table going into the campaign. Fuel excise is a significant revenue instrument, and any increase — or commitment not to increase it — carries direct fiscal implications for the Crown accounts, particularly given the transport infrastructure funding pressures that have dogged successive governments.
For those working in and around Parliament, the positioning is familiar terrain. Tax pledges have been a feature of National's campaign messaging across multiple cycles, and the "no new taxes" formulation is a deliberate echo of previous commitments. The difference this time is the specificity of what has been ruled out versus what has not. Luxon himself put the three options into the public domain; the party has now closed off two of three.
The decision to scrap the accommodation levy also has local government implications. Councils in tourism-heavy regions have long argued for a visitor levy to recover infrastructure costs associated with high visitor volumes. Willis's preference for "existing mechanisms" signals National will work within the current local government funding framework rather than creating a new revenue stream for councils — a stance that will draw attention from mayors and councils already grappling with ratepayer pressure.
Labour's proposed capital gains tax, referenced by Willis in her remarks, remains the most concrete tax policy on the opposing side. Willis's suggestion that Labour may go further than that single proposal is a political argument rather than a policy confirmation — a framing designed to widen the perceived gap between the two parties on tax.
What remains unaddressed is the fuel excise question. Luxon named it as one of three possibilities. The party's announcement did not rule it in or out. For a government seeking re-election on a no-new-taxes platform, that silence is the detail worth watching.
