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Dear
Friend,
Because of your support — and the support of tens of
thousands of other New Zealanders — the Taxpayers’ Union is able to
take on government waste, bad ideas, and overreach that would
otherwise go unchallenged.
Quite simply: these wins don’t happen without
people like you.
That’s why
I’m delighted to share with you the Taxpayers’
Union's 2025/26 Annual Review and Campaign Plan for
2026.
Just as we demand accountability from
politicians and bureaucrats, this document is about our
accountability to you — showing exactly what your support
has achieved.
Consistently punching above our weight 👊
Flicking through the report, I hope you’ll agree that —
despite our relatively small size — the Taxpayers’ Union continues to
deliver outsized results.
At a time
when so many voices in the media are entirely taxpayer-funded (and
others are bankrolled by well-resourced special interests), the
Taxpayers’ Union exists to provide balance. Every achievement you’ll read about in the Annual
Review was made possible by New Zealanders voluntarily chipping in
because they believe someone needs to stand up for
taxpayers.
And I hope
you’ll agree: your support has been put to good
use.
Some
highlights from 2025...
💥 Our exposé on MBIE’s National Science
Challenges revealed that $4 million of taxpayer
money was spent playing music to kauri trees to
“heal” them from kauri dieback. That story cut through nationwide —
and became a benchmark in Parliament for what
not to do with public
money.
💥 As councils piled on ever-bigger rates
increases, we made the case for rates capping — standing up
for homeowners and renters who simply can’t absorb endless
hikes. Our campaign exposed wasteful council spending and
helped turn rates capping from a “fringe idea” into a serious,
unavoidable national debate about fairness, affordability, and
accountability at the local level and resulted in rates caps
becoming government policy.
💥 One of our
biggest wins of the year was the repeal of
David Parker’s IRD
snooping powers. Section 17GB had given Inland
Revenue sweeping authority to pry into Kiwis’ most intimate financial
and personal details — even when there was no suspicion of wrongdoing.
Its repeal was a major victory for privacy, dignity, and basic
fairness.
💥 We also
exposed Simon Watts’ secret Ute Tax
2.0 — a stealth Fringe Benefit Tax hike on work
vehicles. After thousands of supporters emailed their local MPs, the
policy collapsed. Within 24 hours, the Prime Minister’s office stepped
in and killed a $100 million-a-year tax
grab before it could take
hold.
Thank you ❤️
The achievements you’ll see in the Annual Report
are the fruits of tireless work and bucket loads of passion. When I
speak to the Board members (who are not paid), or help train the
student-interns and graduate staffers, it is clear that every member
of the team – and our volunteers – really love what they
do.
But let's
not kid ourselves that a prosperous future of New Zealand is
secured.
Sadly,
there's just so much more to be done.
Friend,
even the Taxpayers' Union can't save the world if they can’t keep the
lights on. Thank you to everyone who chipped-in last week to keep
the momentum going, and ensure the good work can
continue.
On behalf of the entire team, thank you for
making the work of the Taxpayers’ Union possible.
Warm
regards,
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Jordan
Williams
Executive Director
New Zealand
Taxpayers’ Union
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PS. If
you have any trouble reading the report online, click
here to download the PDF.
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