Poll Shows Overwhelming Majority Support Increase In Spending On Public Services

Scoop

20-05-2025

As the Government prepares to release a Budget that will deliver further cuts to public services an overwhelming majority of New Zealanders support increased spending on those services, according to a new poll commissioned by the Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign.
The Talbot Mills Research poll asked whether government spending on key public services such as hospitals, schools, and the police should increase (a lot or a bit), stay the same or decrease (a bit or a lot). 83% of respondents supported increases in public spending, and this support remained high across the political spectrum with even 62% of ACT supporters endorsing an increase.
'This poll shows that there is widespread support for greater investment in our public services to meet the needs of New Zealanders, such as in healthcare, and education,' says Glenn Barclay spokesperson for the Better Taxes campaign.
'It's clear that, even in these tough economic times, people across the political spectrum realise investment in public services now is important to help build a better future.'
The poll also asked if wealthier New Zealanders (e.g.people who earn over $180,000 per year and/or have assets worth more than $5m) should pay more, the same, or less tax than they do at present. A majority (57%) supported the wealthy paying more tax.
'This may not be a surprising result for Labour, Green and Te Pāti Māori supporters, yet even a majority of National Party supporters favour the wealthy paying more tax,' says Glenn Barclay.
'The IR report into High Net Worth Individuals in 2023 demonstrated that the wealthiest 310 families in New Zealand had an effective tax rate of 9.4% compared to over 20% for the average New Zealander and it is clear that there is support for rectifying this imbalance,' says Glenn Barclay.
'The responses to these two questions send a clear message that New Zealanders don't want to see cuts to essential public services, and the government needs to be looking at other ways to generate the revenue we need to provide services that will enable all New Zealanders to succeed,' says Glenn Barclay.
'We encourage the Government and opposition parties to be looking at tax changes that would ensure those that have more to contribute, make that contribution. Gathering more revenue from wealth and gains from wealth would put us in a better position to address the challenges we face in delivering public services, addressing poverty and climate change, and funding major infrastructure.'
Note:
The Better Taxes for a Better Future Campaign is a coalition of over 20 organisations led by Tax Justice Aotearoa.
We believe that tax reform is the only solution to the current challenges facing Aotearoa NZ. We need the tax system to:
be transparent
raise more revenue to enable us address the challenges we face
make sure people who have more to contribute make that contribution: that we gather more revenue from wealth, gains from wealth, all forms of income, and corporates
make greater use of fair taxes to promote good health and environmental health
address the tax impact on the least well off in our society.