Unity says
Has anyone ever asked you why adults have to pay taxes? It's a great question — and the answer says a lot about what kind of country we want New Zealand to be. Today we're going to find out.
📖 story
Read this story together.
Taxes can feel abstract — the story brings it down to something every child understands.
Unity was at the local swimming pool when she started thinking about who paid for it.
The pool had been built by the council. The lifeguard was paid by the council. The water was treated and heated, the changing rooms were cleaned, the lanes were maintained — all of it funded by the council. And the council got its money from rates and government funding. And the government got its money from taxes.
"So everyone who pays tax helped pay for this pool," Unity said to herself.
Taxes are the way a community pools its money to pay for things that everyone needs but that no single person could afford alone. Roads. Hospitals. Schools. Emergency services. Libraries. Parks. The justice system. The military. Scientific research. All of it funded, at least in part, by taxes.
In New Zealand, the main tax most people pay is income tax — a percentage of everything they earn. The more you earn, the higher the percentage you pay. This is called a progressive tax system, and the idea behind it is fairness: people who earn more can afford to contribute more.
Businesses pay tax on their profits too. And when people buy things, they pay GST — Goods and Services Tax — which adds 15% to the price of almost everything sold in New Zealand.
Some people think taxes are too high. Others think they are too low. That debate is part of democracy — different political parties have different views on how much the government should collect and spend. But almost everyone agrees on the basic idea: that living in a community means contributing to it.
"A tax is just a subscription," said Unity, "to the country you live in."
💬Talk and think
The last question gets into genuine political territory — it is worth exploring without pushing any particular answer.
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Can you think of three things in your life that are paid for, at least partly, by taxes?
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Does it seem fair that people who earn more pay a higher percentage in tax? Why or why not?
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What would New Zealand look like if there were no taxes at all — what would disappear?
🔍Explore more
Take a few minutes to read through these facts.
GST is one that kids often find surprising — they have been paying it their whole lives without knowing.
- Income tax: New Zealanders pay between 10.5% and 39% of their income in tax, depending on how much they earn
- GST: 15% is added to the price of almost everything you buy in New Zealand
- What taxes pay for: Health, education, roads, welfare, defence, and much more
- IRD: Inland Revenue collects taxes and makes sure everyone pays their fair share
- Government spending: The NZ government spends around $130 billion per year on public services
- Local rates: Homeowners also pay rates to their local council for local services
🤝Where does the money go?
A practical exercise that makes the abstract very concrete.
Works best if you use real numbers from your own family.
Look up the New Zealand government's Budget summary together online — it shows, in plain language, where tax money is spent. Find three things your family uses or benefits from that are paid for by taxes.
Then talk about this: if you were in charge of the government budget and had to cut spending somewhere, what would you cut — and what would you protect at all costs? Everyone gets a turn. There are no wrong answers.
