CGT in New Zealand: the tax review and working groups from 2001 to 2019. “Are we there yet?”

This article is an analysis of the one tax review (in 2001) and the two working groups (in 2010 and 2019) that have taken place in New Zealand from 2001 to date. The main focus of the analysis is on the way that these have considered and made a recommendation on the introduction of a comprehensive capital gains tax (CGT) in New Zealand. Given the absence of a CGT in New Zealand, this article considers how the experience with the three review events may inform policymakers who seek to introduce a CGT in New Zealand. The article also considers Australia’s 1975 Taxation Review Committee, as the tax review that informed the introduction of a comprehensive CGT in Australia, as well as the relevance of Australia to the formulation of tax policy in New Zealand.