🎃 Trick or Treat? Labour’s Tax on Success Isn’t Sweet

Party: ACT

Sender: ACTion I ACT New Zealand <[email protected]>

Date Received: 2025-10-31 19:53

HTML Version

Dear [Name],

It’s Halloween – the time of year for horror stories like the ever-revolving door of Green MPs, bad jokes like the Māori Party, and things that just won’t die – like Labour’s tax plan.

Yes, back from the political graveyard with a horror story of its own: a new tax.

They’re calling it a “targeted capital gains tax,” but really, it’s the same old trick – tax success, punish ambition, and pretend it’s for your own good.

Meanwhile, ACT’s busy delivering the treats. We’re restoring balance in schools, opening new education options for kids who learn differently, and cutting the red tape that wastes everyone’s time.

It’s the difference between playing politics and fixing what matters.

Trick or Treat? Here’s Labour’s halloween horror show

It’s Halloween, and Labour’s come knocking with a trick, not a treat.

Here’s the setup: you earn an income, you pay tax on it. You invest what’s left, grow a business, buy a property…and Labour wants to tax you again when you sell it.

That’s their “targeted capital gains tax” – scary stuff for anyone who works hard and saves.

As David put it:

“Labour’s Capital Gains Tax is double taxation, and double cynicism.The policy would make New Zealand a nation of tax accountants, not entrepreneurs.

“New Zealand already taxes more than most developed countries – 34 percent of GDP, higher than Australia’s 29.4. We are a high-tax nation without a Capital Gains Tax. Our goal should be to tax less so people who take risks can keep more of what they earn. – David Seymour

Marketing, not policy.

The policy is being sold with a fairy tale that it’ll somehow fund free GP visits. In reality, the tax wouldn’t raise a cent until years after it’s introduced. Plus, there are already free and subsidised GP visits for low income and young New Zealanders.

Frankly, Labour’s idea of fairness is to find someone else to blame: landlords, farmers, petrol companies – and punish them. ACT’s taking the opposite approach. We believe New Zealand thrives when people are rewarded for working hard and taking risks, not penalised for it.

Teaching history, rather than political agenda

Under Labour, the school history curriculum was a national embarrassment. It wasn’t education; it was activism – turning classrooms into lecture halls for ideology.

Kids as young as 5 were taught to see New Zealand as a story of villains and victims, built around colonisation, oppression, and power.

That changes now. David has delivered on ACT’s promise to restore balance.

“School curricula should expand the mind, not some adults’ ideology.” – David Seymour

The new draft curriculum throws out Labour’s political “big ideas” and replaces them with real learning – Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, the Victorian Age. These are subjects that open young minds and encourage them to think globally, not through a narrow political lens.

“We are teaching young Kiwis to look outward and engage with a world that has always been connected and always will be.” – David Seymour

It’s about teaching kids that we’re all descended from people who crossed oceans – whether in wakas, steamships, or Airbuses – to build a better life together at the bottom of the world.

Another charter school, means more choice for more students

From Term 3, 2026, Autism NZ Education Hub will open as a new charter school, one designed specifically for autistic and neurodivergent students who’ve struggled with traditional schooling.

“Every child deserves the opportunity to learn and grow in ways which are more specific to their needs. Today’s announcement demonstrates the innovation enabled by the charter school model.” – David Seymour

It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. Students’ days will follow “a personalised plan built around their strengths, interests, and needs.”

There’s an estimated 3,900 autistic students in Years 9–13 in Auckland and Wellington, and national data shows disproportionately high and chronic absence among neurodivergent and disabled students, especially in secondary years.

"Providing more education options for whānau is essential to ensuring that every young person can access an education that supports their individual needs.” – Autism New Zealand’s CEO Dane Dougan

This makes the fifth new charter school announced in the past few weeks, all opening in 2026 – bringing the total number of charter schools to 17.

Fewer Trips to VTNZ, means WoF woes no more

Here’s some great news for anyone who’s spent too much of their life waiting at VTNZ.

Getting a Warrant of Fitness is a pain we all know too well, $75 a pop and an hour gone from your day. New Zealand’s inspection regime is one of the most frequent in the world. That made sense decades ago when cars broke down every other week. But today? Not so much.

Here’s what we’re proposing to change:

New vehicles get their second WoF at four years.
Cars aged four to ten move to every two years.
Older cars stay on yearly checks.

We’ll also update tests to cover modern safety systems, like automatic braking, and toughen penalties for those who skip inspections entirely. Less bureaucracy, less wasted time, same safety. That’s ACT’s kind of reform.

Until Next Week

So as the ghosts of bad ideas haunt the opposition benches, ACT’s focused on real-world results – more choice for families, more freedom for workers, and fewer pointless hoops for everyone else.

No gimmicks. No tricks. Just good, honest, common-sense change.

Because while Labour’s busy handing out scare campaigns, ACT’s delivering the treats – fixing what matters for everyday New Zealanders.

Happy Halloween [Name], and here’s to a future with fewer frights and more freedom.

👉 Say g'day at our next event

Thanks,

Team ACT

DONATE TODAY

[Name], if you like what we're doing, and wish to support us, please consider donating. As a grassroots movement, we rely on the support from Kiwis like you.

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Authorised by C Purves, Suite 2.5, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket, Auckland 1023

Text Version

<https://www.act.org.nz/>Dear [Name], <https://action.act.org.nz/>
It’s Halloween – the time of year for horror stories like the ever-revolving door of Green MPs, bad jokes like the Māori Party, and things that just won’t die – like Labour’s tax plan.
Yes, back from the political graveyard with a horror story of its own: a new tax.
They’re calling it a “targeted capital gains tax,” but really, it’s the same old trick – tax success, punish ambition, and pretend it’s for your own good.
Meanwhile, ACT’s busy delivering the treats. We’re restoring balance in schools, opening new education options for kids who learn differently, and cutting the red tape that wastes everyone’s time.
It’s the difference between playing politics and fixing what matters.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch or Treat? Here’s Labour’s halloween horror show
It’s Halloween, and Labour’s come knocking with a trick, not a treat.
Here’s the setup: you earn an income, you pay tax on it. You invest what’s left, grow a business, buy a property…and Labour wants to tax you again when you sell it.
That’s their “targeted capital gains tax” – scary stuff for anyone who works hard and saves.
As David put it:
“Labour’s Capital Gains Tax is double taxation, and double cynicism.The policy would make New Zealand a nation of tax accountants, not entrepreneurs.
“New Zealand already taxes more than most developed countries – 34 percent of GDP, higher than Australia’s 29.4. We are a high-tax nation without a Capital Gains Tax. Our goal should be to tax less so people who take risks can keep more of what they earn. – David Seymour
Marketing, not policy.
The policy is being sold with a fairy tale that it’ll somehow fund free GP visits. In reality, the tax wouldn’t raise a cent until years after it’s introduced. Plus, there are already free and subsidised GP visits for low income and young New Zealanders.
Frankly, Labour’s idea of fairness is to find someone else to blame: landlords, farmers, petrol companies – and punish them. ACT’s taking the opposite approach. We believe New Zealand thrives when people are rewarded for working hard and taking risks, not penalised for it.
<https://www.act.org.nz/news/new-curriculum-takes-politics-out-of-history>Teaching history, rather than political agenda
Under Labour, the school history curriculum was a national embarrassment. It wasn’t education; it was activism – turning classrooms into lecture halls for ideology.
Kids as young as 5 were taught to see New Zealand as a story of villains and victims, built around colonisation, oppression, and power.
That changes now. David has delivered on ACT’s promise to restore balance.
“School curricula should expand the mind, not some adults’ ideology.” – David Seymour
The new draft curriculum throws out Labour’s political “big ideas” and replaces them with real learning – Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, the Victorian Age. These are subjects that open young minds and encourage them to think globally, not through a narrow political lens.
“We are teaching young Kiwis to look outward and engage with a world that has always been connected and always will be.”– David Seymour
It’s about teaching kids that we’re all descended from people who crossed oceans – whether in wakas, steamships, or Airbuses – to build a better life together at the bottom of the world.
Another charter school, means more choice for more students
From Term 3, 2026, Autism NZ Education Hub will open as a new charter school, one designed specifically for autistic and neurodivergent students who’ve struggled with traditional schooling.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to learn and grow in ways which are more specific to their needs. Today’s announcement demonstrates the innovation enabled by the charter school model.” – David Seymour
It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. Students’ days will follow “a personalised plan built around their strengths, interests, and needs.”
There’s an estimated 3,900 autistic students in Years 9–13 in Auckland and Wellington, and national data shows disproportionately high and chronic absence among neurodivergent and disabled students, especially in secondary years.
"Providing more education options for whānau is essential to ensuring that every young person can access an education that supports their individual needs.” – Autism New Zealand’s CEO Dane Dougan
This makes the fifth new charter school announced in the past few weeks, all opening in 2026 – bringing the total number of charter schools to 17.
Fewer Trips to VTNZ, means WoF woes no more
Here’s some great news for anyone who’s spent too much of their life waiting at VTNZ.
Getting a Warrant of Fitness is a pain we all know too well, $75 a pop and an hour gone from your day. New Zealand’s inspection regime is one of the most frequent in the world. That made sense decades ago when cars broke down every other week. But today? Not so much.
Here’s what we’re proposing to change:
- New vehicles get their second WoF at four years.
- Cars aged four to ten move to every two years.
- Older cars stay on yearly checks.
We’ll also update tests to cover modern safety systems, like automatic braking, and toughen penalties for those who skip inspections entirely. Less bureaucracy, less wasted time, same safety. That’s ACT’s kind of reform.
Until Next Week
So as the ghosts of bad ideas haunt the opposition benches, ACT’s focused on real-world results – more choice for families, more freedom for workers, and fewer pointless hoops for everyone else.
No gimmicks. No tricks. Just good, honest, common-sense change.
Because while Labour’s busy handing out scare campaigns, ACT’s delivering the treats – fixing what matters for everyday New Zealanders.
Happy Halloween [Name], and here’s to a future with fewer frights and more freedom.
👉 Say g'day at our next event <https://action.act.org.nz/events>
Thanks,
Team ACT
<https://action.act.org.nz/donate>DONATE TODAY <https://action.act.org.nz/donate>[Name], if you like what we're doing, and wish to support us, please consider donating. As a grassroots movement, we rely on the support from Kiwis like you.
This email was sent to [Email] <https://action.act.org.nz/unsubscribe>
You can update your email preferences here <https://action.act.org.nz/unsubscribe>
Authorised by C Purves, Suite 2.5, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket, Auckland 1023