A majority of New Zealanders across every income group surveyed think wealthier people should pay more tax, new Vote Compass findings show.
That includes 53% of respondents earning more than $100,000.
Overall, 62% said wealthier people should pay somewhat or much more tax. While that remains above the level recorded a decade ago, it is down from 67% at the last election.
The analysis draws on responses from 186,475 people who used Vote Compass between October 4 and 21.
Find out where you stand with Vote Compass
What did people say?
Participants were asked: “How much should wealthier people pay in taxes?”
Around 31% said somewhat more, and another 31% said much more.
A further 31% wanted the amount to stay about the same, while 5% said wealthier people should pay less. About 1% did not know.
The question measures views on how much tax wealthier people should pay generally. It does not ask respondents to rate a particular wealth tax, rate or threshold.
A majority across five elections
Support for wealthier people paying more tax has exceeded 50% in every Vote Compass election survey in New Zealand since 2014.
It rose from 56% in 2014 to 57% in 2017 and 59% in 2020, before peaking at 67% in 2023.
Overall support for wealthier people paying more tax:
2014: 56%
2017: 57%
2020: 59%
2023: 67%
2026: 62%
What shapes people’s views?
University of Auckland political scientist Danny Osborne said people’s explanations for wealth inequality can influence the policies they support.
“So if you think wealth inequality is due to lack of effort and people just not working hard enough, then that’s going to lead you to have a very different policy position than somebody who believes that wealth inequality is a result of unfair tax regulations.”
The findings also show a relationship between income and support for wealthier people paying more.
Support was highest among respondents in the lowest income band, at 70%, and declined across the higher bands.
But it remained a majority in each group:
Results by income band
Percentage who think wealthier people should pay more:
$20,000 or less: 70%
$20,001 - $40,000: 68%
$40,001 - $70,000: 66%
$70,001 - $100,000: 64%
More than $100,000: 53%
Where party supporters stand
The differences were sharper when respondents were grouped by the party they currently supported.
Among Green supporters, 96% wanted wealthier people to pay more tax, compared with 88% of Labour supporters and 86% of Opportunity supporters.
That fell to 45% among New Zealand First supporters, 30% among National supporters and 25% among ACT supporters.
For National and ACT supporters, the most common response was that wealthier people should pay about the same amount as they do now.
Among respondents who were undecided about their party vote, 64% favoured wealthier people paying more.
Find out where you stand on party policies with Vote Compass
Methodology
Results are based on 186,475 respondents to Vote Compass between October 4 and 21, 2026. Data were weighted to align the sample characteristics with those of the New Zealand adult population on the following characteristics: sex, age, ethnicity, education, and past voting record. A margin of error does not apply to non-probability samples. The modeled error estimate for a percentage in the overall sample is ±0.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Results based on subsamples of the data should be expected to contain greater error.
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