The Green Party has accused National of spreading misinformation in a Facebook video advertisement that misrepresented the Greens' tax policy.
National's 41-second advertisement claimed that someone earning $160,000 would pay 45% of their total income in tax under the Greens' proposal. However, the Greens' tax policy sets the 45% rate for income earned beyond $160,000, following New Zealand's progressive tax structure.
Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said "either the National Party is deliberately misleading New Zealanders, or they don't understand how even the current tax system works". She said "a party who constantly tells everyone they're the party of economics is caught mischaracterising the basic operation of progressive taxation".
Under the Greens' proposal, earnings up to $10,000 would not be taxed, with progressive rates from 10% to 33.5% applying to income up to $159,999. The 45% top rate would apply only to earnings above $160,000. The current top rate is 39% on income over $180,000.
The Green Party claims 96% of people would receive a tax cut under their policy. Someone earning $170,000 would pay $23 more per week compared to current rates.
National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis said she had not seen the advertisement and was not in a position to comment on its accuracy. She said "I will go and look at that. And if there's someone on the social media team that needs to be educated, I'll be happy to give them a bit of a lesson in marginal tax rates".
The Greens' broader tax package includes a 2.5% levy on net assets exceeding $10 million, excluding the family home, and a capital acquisitions tax of 33% on inheritances and gifts received valued over $1 million. Green co-leader Marama Davidson said 99.7% of people would not pay the wealth tax.
The Greens corrected their revenue projections the day after the policy launch, revising net revenue down by about $200 million per year after a $100 million IRD funding allocation was mistakenly added to total revenue rather than subtracted as a cost.