BusinessNZ-commissioned poll shows voters against CGT

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the debate over a capital gains tax has been going on for a long time. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Close to half of voters believe the debate around a capital gains tax has harmed the Government, a new survey has found.

The Reid Research poll on the issue, commissioned by BusinessNZ, found 47.8 per cent of people believed the debate had harmed the Government.

That was compared with 33.1 per cent who believed it had not. Another 19.2 per cent didn't know.

Asked whether the introduction of a capital gains tax should be a priority, just 22.8 per cent of respondents said yes while 65.2 per cent said no. A further 12 per cent didn't know.

The poll surveyed 1000 eligible voters, and had a margin of error of 3.1 per cent.

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However, a majority also said the implementation of a CGT would not change how they voted at the next election.

A total of 57.5 per cent said it would not change how they voted while 17.7 per cent of people didn't know. Only 24.7 per cent of people said it would change how they voted.

Asked yesterday if the CGT debate had been damaging for the Government, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was a debate that had been going on since around 2014.

"It was certainly a topic of debate during the election campaign and look, here I am," she said.

Ardern reiterated that no final decisions had been made on the recommendations of the Tax Working Group.

The Government has said it will respond by the end of this month.

"The period that we're in now has given me the opportunity to hear the views of different interest groups, members of the public. That's all an important part of the process," Ardern said.

The poll also asked whether the respondents would support a CGT on the profit made from property sales excluding the family home.

That was a closer result – 39.1 per cent said yes and 49.8 per cent said no. Another 11.1 per cent said they didn't know.

Just over a third, 31.6 per cent, agreed there should be a CGT on the sale of things such as businesses and farms. That compared with 54.3 per cent who disagreed, and 14 per cent didn't know.

The vast majority, 90 per cent of respondents, did not believe KiwiSaver earnings should be subject to an additional tax such as a CGT on top of resident withholding tax. Just 4.4 per cent said they should and 5.6 per cent didn't know.

Close to 70 per cent, 69.3 per cent, also thought other invested savings such as shares, should also not be subject to a CGT. Only 19.3 per cent said they should while 11.5 per cent didn't know.

The poll was carried out between March 15 and 23.