SCRAP THE

APP TAX!

Stop National’s tax raid on your holidays and takeaways

Join the Fight

THE APP TAX IS:

a Holiday Tax

hiking the prices of a weekend away with Bookabach and Airbnb

a Ride-Share Tax

making your commute with Uber or Ola more expensive

a Takeaway Tax

ramping up the cost of your Friday night Uber Eats and Delivereasy

UNAFFORDABLE

This new tax comes at a time when New Zealanders can least afford it. With Government officials themselves predicting that the whole tax will be passed on to customers, that means you could be paying 15% more every time you order a takeaway, rideshare or trip away. They’re trying to present this as a tax on tech, but even their own figures show that it's a tax on you.

UNWORKABLE

Big firms already pay GST – this new tax is coming for casual uber drivers, grandmothers renting out the spare bedroom or families letting out the bach for the weekend. With the average mum-and-dad service provider bringing in about $5-10k a year, hitting them with a new tax could simply make it not worth it and leave consumers with less choice and higher prices. The mess of red tape this tax creates for tech companies risks forcing them to pull out of New Zealand or reduce the range of services offered. People use these platforms to make ends meet, but thanks to this new tax that’s not going to be possible for many after April 1st.

UNKEPT PROMISES

National promised tax relief for Kiwi battlers. What they’re offering is a financial carousel, giving to working people with one hand and taking from working people with the other. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, this money-go-round is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. And it certainly won’t help you balance the books at the end of the week.

MAKE YOUR

VOICE HEARD!

Email Finance Minister Nicola Willis and ask her to Scrap the App Tax.

Dear Minister Willis, ‍ It appears the Government has adopted Labour’s unfair, unaffordable, and unworkable App Tax despite your assurance prior to the election that it would be axed. For Kiwis already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, this tax hike will hit at a time we can least afford it. Small business owners, the self-employed, and those with an app-based side hustle to make ends meet, will suffer. For them, the App Tax will mean more red tape and higher costs – precisely what you were elected to stop. Consumers too – such as families wanting a well-earned holiday, takeaway or even commuting by Uber to work – will be left picking up the cost. This is singling out small service providers under the $60,000 GST threshold for unfair treatment. Industry advice says this won’t work, and IRD say it won’t hit the big tech companies. In fact, you said the same just last year. You have signalled tax relief is coming later this year as part of your first Budget. But adopting Labour’s new taxes, to fund tax relief, is nothing more than a fiscal merry-go-round. Smoke and mirrors tax relief funded by new taxes will not put our economy back on track. Minister Willis, your time in opposition demonstrates you know that this App Tax needs to be scrapped. I’m emailing you to ask that you hold firm and stand up for hardworking Kiwis, cut wasteful spending, and Scrap the App Tax. Yours sincerely,