Programme aims to boost investment, support small businesses, and simplify tax.
New Zealand’s Revenue Minister Simon Watts unveiled an updated Tax and Social Policy Work Programme aimed at boosting economic growth by enhancing the country’s appeal to investors, skilled professionals, and small businesses on 29 October 2025.
“The initial work programme we released last year focused on boosting productivity, bringing in much-needed capital and skills, and streamlining international tax settings. Our refreshed work programme builds on this momentum,” Mr Watts says.
“The refreshed work programme is about removing regulatory barriers and delivering a stable, predictable tax environment that directly supports growth and opportunity.”
The refreshed work programme has four pillars:
- Attracting and retaining capital and talent
- Supporting small businesses
- Simplifying the tax system and improving integrity
- Improvements to social policy
The Work Programme covers the following workstreams: Attracting and retaining capital and talent: this workstream makes New Zealand a better place to invest capital, work and do business by minimising biases on economic decisions, reducing international tax barriers and rewarding effort and individuals’ investment in their own skills. Supporting small businesses: this workstream is focused on supporting small businesses by reducing compliance costs and making tax treatment simpler and fairer Simplification and integrity of the tax system: this workstream reduces compliance costs for taxpayers and protects against tax avoidance and evasion to maintain a simple, stable and predictable tax system. Social policy: this workstream involves improving the delivery of income support payments administered through the tax system and increasing work incentives.
To encourage critical investment in infrastructure, targeted consultation begins on refined thin-capitalisation proposals.
“We are removing barriers that currently discourage large-scale infrastructure investment. We are also progressing reforms to the Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) regime and financial arrangement rules to both retain and attract talent here. These changes will help ensure our settings are modern, competitive, and do not inadvertently discourage productive investment,” Mr Watts says.
“The Government is also committed to making life easier for small businesses. This will include continuing work on simplification of the Fringe Benefit Tax subject to fiscal considerations. We will also be consulting on improvements to the GST regime.
“We are also working with intermediaries to reduce compliance costs and make tax treatment simpler and fairer. Inland Revenue is currently exploring a more flexible approach to income‑tax payments for sole traders and small businesses, and plans to consult on this in the first part of next year.
“We continue to focus on simplifying the tax system and improving integrity. This includes our ongoing policy work looking at the taxation of charities and not-for-profits, Inland Revenue’s compliance programme and the Government’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that tax legislation remains up to date and fit for purpose.
“We’re getting on with targeted, practical reforms. This means listening to stakeholders, removing barriers, and delivering a stable, predictable tax environment that supports growth and opportunity for every New Zealander.
