National says no new taxes — but leaves one question hanging
The National Party says it will not introduce any new taxes if it wins the November 2026 election. Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis said the party would keep funding front-line services like health and education without adding new charges on taxpayers.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had previously talked about three possible new taxes: a bed tax, a bank tax, and an increase to the fuel excise. A fuel excise is a tax added to the price of petrol and diesel at the pump. The announcement on 23 August ruled out two of those three but said nothing about the fuel excise.
National has dropped the idea of a bed tax, which would have charged people staying in short-term rentals like bed and breakfasts. Willis said it would only hurt people booking weekends away. The party will instead look at existing ways to help councils cover the costs that come with tourism. National also ruled out a bank tax.
Willis said the pledge showed a clear difference from Labour. She said Labour had left the door open to bringing in more taxes than its proposed capital gains tax. A capital gains tax is a tax on the profit you make when you sell something like an investment property. Luxon said taxes would be a "defining theme" of the election.
The announcement is only partial. National ruled out the bed tax and the bank tax but did not say anything about the fuel excise increase. That leaves a live question going into the campaign. Fuel excise brings in a lot of government revenue, and any change to it — or a promise not to change it — affects the government's books, especially because paying for roads and transport has been a headache for governments for years.
For people who follow politics, this approach is familiar. National has made tax pledges part of its campaign messaging before, and the phrase "no new taxes" is a deliberate echo of past promises. What is different this time is how specific the party has been about what it has and has not ruled out. Luxon himself named three options. The party has now closed off two.
The decision to drop the bed tax also matters to local councils. Councils in areas with lots of tourists have long wanted a visitor charge to help pay for the wear and tear that visitors place on roads and facilities. Willis's preference for "existing mechanisms" means National will work within the current funding setup rather than giving councils a new way to raise money. Mayors and councils already under pressure from ratepayers will be watching this closely.
Labour's proposed capital gains tax is still the most concrete tax policy from the other side. Willis's claim that Labour might go further than that one proposal is a political argument, not a confirmed policy. It is a way of making the two parties look further apart on tax than they might actually be.
The fuel excise question is still unanswered. Luxon named it as one of three possibilities. The announcement did not rule it in or out. For a party running on a no-new-taxes promise, that silence is the thing to keep an eye on.
