Tax credits as a mechanism for political party funding in Aotearoa New Zealand: an exploratory study

Figures & data

Table 1. How much should people be permitted to donate?^a

Preferred cap	Response
Nil (i.e. no donations permitted)	11.6%
Less than $100	8.4%
Less than $1,000	23.7%
Less than $10,000	25.6%
Less than $20,000	13.2%
No cap	17.6%

^aChapple, Duran, and Prickett (2021, 8).

Figure 1. What is the right balance for where political parties should get their money?

Figure 2. How strongly do you support each of these options?

Table 2. Tax credits for donations made after 2004.

Contribution	Tax Credit	NZ$ equivalent
C$0.01 to C$400	75%	$0–460: credit is 75% (maximum $345)
C$400.01 to C$750	C$300 plus 50% of the amount by which the contribution exceeds C$400	$460–$870: $345 plus 50% of the amount over $460
C$750.01 and over	The lesser of: C$475 plus 33.3% of the amount by which the total exceeds C$750 and C$650	$870 and over: credit is the lessor of $550 plus 33.3% of the amount in excess of $870 and $750

Table 3. Donations to NZ political parties (2020).⁽¹⁾

Political Party	Private donations
ACT New Zealand	$1,227,121
Advance NZ	$251,099
Green Party	$859,727
Labour Party	$1,510,628
Māori Party	$389,604
National Party	$2,802,766
New Conservative	$198,390
NZ First	$514,263
ONE Party	$310,036
TEA Party	$154,620
Total	$6,991,132

(1) Source: Electoral Commission (2022).

Table 4. Financial information for Canada’s five largest political parties (2021 – Canadian $).

	Bloc Québécois	Conservative Party of Canada	Green Party of Canada	Liberal Party of Canada	New Democratic Party (NDP)
Total amount of donations	$2,067,513.18	$26,493,721.21	$3,517,724.59	$18,100,388.57	$9,231,472.56
Total number of donors	11,322	95,222	18,387	75,814	47,335
Proportion of votes received in 2021 election	7.6%	33.7%	2.3%	32.6%	17.8%
Average donation per donor	$182.61	$278.23	$191.32	$238.75	$195.02

Sources: Elections Canada (2021, 2022).

Chapple, Simon, Cristhian Prieto Duran, and Kate Prickett. 2021. “Political Donations, Party Funding and Trust in New Zealand.” Institute for Governance and Policy Studies Working Paper 21/14.

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Electoral Commission. 2022. “Party Donations and Loans by Year.” https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/political-parties-in-new-zealand/party-donations-and-loans-by-year/.

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Elections Canada. 2021. Canadian Election Results By Party 2021 (Sept 20).

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Elections Canada. 2022. Registered Party Financial Returns.

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