Kiwis back bank levy, despite warning it could result in higher charges
Monday, 25 May 2026
A narrow majority of Kiwis would like the Government to impose an Australian or British style levy on the major banks, according to a poll commissioned by lobby group Better Taxes for a Better Future.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis asked officials to investigate the option last year and the lobby group said it looked like an “obvious solution” to raise revenue in the Budget as funds got tighter.
Better Taxes for a Better Future’s poll, conducted by Talbot Mills, indicated 52% of New Zealanders would be supportive, with 24% opposed and another 24% unsure.
ACT leader David Seymour told The Post last month that the Government should get back to surplus by managing its spending, rather than finding new ways to tax people.
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“Everybody knows taxing banks is taxing people who keep their money in banks,” Seymour said.
But Better Taxes for a Better Future said an interesting finding of its poll was that 57% of people identifying as ACT voters supported a levy, along with 59% of National voters.
That showed a levy would have “support across the political spectrum”, spokesperson Kate Stone said.
Support among Green and NZ First voters was 48% and 44%, respectively, based on the poll of 1056 adults.
Men, and younger people, were significantly more likely to back a levy, though there was net support in each demographic.
Stone said she had no information to suggest a levy was imminent.
Australia justified its bank levy on the basis that there was an implicit understanding the Government would need to bail out a big bank if it failed, and that taxpayers should be compensated for that risk.
Nevertheless, its major bank levy has often been viewed as more opportunistic in nature.
Talbot Mills noted the Australian rationale for its levy and the argument it would help smaller banks compete when surveying people, but also advised them that critics tended to say that the cost of any levy would be passed on to customers in a range of bank charges.
Stone said a levy could bring in about $300 million a year that could be used to fund critical public services.
ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac had increased their profits by 25% in real terms over the past 10 years, which now totalled $9.5b before tax, she said.
“We’re seeing big corporates, like banks, fuel and energy companies, and supermarkets, continuing to make huge profits. New Zealanders are asking themselves why ordinary people are constantly being asked to tighten our belts, to expect less.”
The head of the OECD’s New Zealand desk, David Haugh, said earlier this month that “a key issue for making the New Zealand economy work better is to reduce the profitability of banks in the country — unfortunately for the banks”.