Update – October 2026
The Government's Tax and Social Policy Work Programme, as announced by the Minister of Revenue in November 2024 and revised in October 2025, has been updated.
The work programme's overarching priorities are simplifying the tax system and reducing compliance costs, addressing integrity risks, improving fiscal sustainability, and increasing productivity, in order to rebuild the economy.
For the latest version, please refer to the Government Tax and Social Policy Work Programme (PDF - 154KB - 2 pages).
It is intended that the work programme be updated periodically to reflect the Government's current priorities.
Workstreams
The update summarises progress and future priorities in the following workstreams:
Attract and retain capital and talent
This workstream focuses on making 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 individual's investment in their own skills.
Support small businesses
This workstream focuses on supporting small businesses by reducing compliance costs and making tax treatment simpler and fairer.
Simplify and uphold integrity of the tax system
This workstream focuses on reducing compliance costs for taxpayers and protecting against tax avoidance and evasion to maintain a simple, stable and predictable tax system.
Improve social policy
This workstream focuses on improving the delivery of income support payments administered through the tax system and increasing work incentives.
Items included in current Bill
The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2026–27, FBT Simplification, Foreign Investment Funds, and Remedial Measures) Bill was introduced on 10 September 2026 and had its first reading on 15 September 2026.
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has called for public submissions on the Bill, with the public encouraged to submit by 4 November 2026. Submissions will remain open until a new Finance and Expenditure Committee is convened in the next term of Parliament. The new Committee will decide when to close submissions.
Submissions on the Bill should be made directly to the Finance and Expenditure Committee. The Bill is expected to be enacted before 31 March 2027.
Contact us if you would like to speak to Inland Revenue about items in the Bill.
Other work programme items
The Government is committed to transparency through public engagement on the design of tax policy via the Generic Tax Policy Process (GTPP). Public consultation plays an important role in creating and sustaining a durable and widely accepted tax system.
This table below outlines any upcoming consultation on work programme items not included in the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2026–27, FBT Simplification, Foreign Investment Funds, and Remedial Measures) Bill.
| Project | Description | Consultation type | Expected timeframe | Timing of legislation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nothing at this time | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Remedial programme
The remedial programme plays an important part in maintaining the tax system. At the time of introduction, the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2026–27, FBT Simplification, Foreign Investment Funds, and Remedial Measures) Bill contains 41 proposed remedial amendments, covering themes such as compliance simplification, GST, international tax, and social policy, as well as a further 17 proposed maintenance amendments. Further items may be added as the Bill progresses. This substantial programme highlights the Government commitment to progress remedial amendments to legislation.
The Public Remedials Log seeks to inform the public about remedial legislative issues that Inland Revenue has considered. It also tracks the progress of each item through the legislative amendment process. Certain issues have been redacted because they contain sensitive information; these redactions will be regularly reviewed.
For the latest version of the Public Remedials Log please refer to:
Public Remedials Log (PDF - 1.43MB - 38 pages)
Previous work programmes
To see work programmes from previous years, use the link below.