A new poll shows majority support for taxing major bank profits across the political spectrum
More than half of New Zealanders support a targeted levy on major banks, according to new polling that arrives as the government faces mounting pressure to find revenue ahead of a cash-strapped budget on 28 May.
The Talbot Mills Research poll, commissioned by the Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign, found 52% of respondents agreed the government should introduce a major bank levy — similar to those already operating in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Cross-party support surprises
The result is notable not just for its overall level of support but for where that support comes from.
Kate Stone, spokesperson for the Better Taxes campaign, said the findings cut across traditional political divides.
"Interestingly, 59% of National voters and 57% of ACT voters support a major bank levy — showing this is a move that has support across the political spectrum," Stone said.
She framed the result as a public response to growing frustration with economic inequality.
"This poll shows that people are increasingly frustrated with how unbalanced our economic system is," Stone said, pointing to cuts to fees-free tertiary education, public service jobs, and social housing support alongside continued profit growth at major corporates.
Two of those cuts featured in budget 2026 pre-announcements: the government confirmed a social housing shake-up leaving 80,000 families worse off by $30 a week, alongside the axing of fees-free tertiary education.
The sentiment extends beyond the campaign's own polling. A Consumer NZ survey found not a single bank qualified for the organisation's People's Choice Award — the first time in a decade the entire sector failed to clear the threshold — with 43% of respondents saying they considered bank profits unacceptable.
Against that backdrop, the Better Taxes campaign is making the case that a levy is both overdue and broadly supported.
What a levy could raise
Advocates say a banking levy would generate between $275 million and $300 million in new revenue — money the campaign argues should be directed toward social housing and public services.
Stone also highlighted a systemic rationale beyond revenue, describing such levies as "a sort of insurance policy in the event that taxpayers are called upon to bail out a failing bank, like we saw during the Global Financial Crisis."
The scale of bank profits gives the argument added weight. In 2025 the big four banks — ANZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac — recorded combined pre-tax profits of $9.53 billion, a figure Stone noted represents a 25% real-terms increase in New Zealand profits over the past decade.
For mortgage brokers, the debate carries practical implications. Critics of the levy argue any additional tax on bank profits would ultimately be passed on to customers through higher charges — a concern raised directly in the poll question put to respondents. Whether that risk materialises would depend significantly on how any levy is structured and whether it applies uniformly across lenders.
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