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New Zealand’s ACT Party wants to kill capital gains tax on crypto. Not for everyone — but for ordinary retail investors who hold their digital assets for more than a year, the party says the levy should go away entirely.
ACT, a right-wing party holding 11 seats in Parliament, rolled out the proposal on Thursday. The plan is pretty specific about who it helps: individual investors who sit on crypto for over 12 months would get the exemption. Professional traders won’t. Businesses won’t. It’s targeted relief for the everyday Kiwi who bought some Bitcoin or Ethereum and held it, not the funds or the active market players grinding daily positions. Beyond the capital gains piece, ACT also wants to scrap taxes on small crypto purchases used as payment — basically trying to make spending digital assets feel as normal as swiping a card. The logic is that if every coffee bought with crypto triggers a taxable event, nobody’s ever going to actually use the stuff as a currency.
The proposal goes further than just tax cuts.
Stablecoins, Sandboxes, and Regulatory Clarity
ACT wants a clear regulatory framework built around stablecoins and tokenized securities — two areas where New Zealand currently has murky rules, or none at all. The party is pushing for a sandbox environment where startups can test new products under controlled conditions before full regulatory exposure. That kind of setup has worked in other jurisdictions to give early-stage crypto companies room to breathe without immediately running into legal walls. ACT also wants a broader review of existing financial policies to figure out which ones are quietly blocking crypto businesses from operating inside the normal financial system. No details yet on what that review would look like or how long it’d take.
Deputy ACT Leader Nicole McKee made the economic case directly. Streamlined rules and less bureaucracy, she said, could unlock New Zealand’s digital economy — letting Kiwis invest and transact with more confidence. The party frames it as building a modern, competitive economy, not just handing tax breaks to crypto holders. McKee’s argument is that regulatory drag is costing New Zealand talent, capital, and relevance in a sector that’s moving fast globally.
The backdrop here matters. New Zealand hasn’t exactly been friendly to crypto. The former Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand pushed back hard against stablecoins, and the country’s general posture toward digital assets has been cautious, sometimes skeptical. ACT is essentially trying to flip that script — repositioning New Zealand as a hub for digital finance rather than a jurisdiction that treats crypto like a problem to manage.
That’s a big shift. And it’s not guaranteed to stick.
CARF Bill and the Government’s Parallel Move
Separately from ACT’s proposal, the New Zealand government has introduced a bill to adopt the OECD’s Crypto Asset Reporting Framework, known as CARF. That’s a global standard for automatic exchange of crypto tax information between countries — designed to close the gaps that let people hide crypto gains offshore. So while ACT wants to reduce the tax burden on long-term holders domestically, the government is simultaneously building the infrastructure to make sure crypto activity gets reported internationally. The two moves aren’t necessarily contradictory, but they paint a complicated picture of where New Zealand’s crypto policy actually lands. Details of the CARF framework’s implementation remain to be finalized.
ACT’s proposal still needs legislative support it doesn’t have yet. The party hasn’t secured government endorsement, and there’s no public consultation process on the record. Unclear whether that’s coming soon or whether this stays a campaign-style policy push for now.
The tokenized securities angle is probably underreported. ACT is calling for legal and tax clarity around tokenized real-world assets — a sector that’s been growing fast globally as traditional finance starts wrapping bonds, real estate, and commodities in blockchain-based structures. Getting that clarity right matters a lot for attracting institutional players, not just retail crypto fans. It’s the kind of framework detail that sounds dry but could determine whether serious capital flows into New Zealand or routes around it.
ACT’s broader goal seems to be making sure crypto businesses aren’t quietly excluded from the financial system by rules that were written before digital assets existed. Banks and payment processors have historically been reluctant to serve crypto companies in many markets, partly because the regulatory picture is ambiguous. A formal review of those policies — if it actually happens — could change that calculus for firms thinking about where to base operations.
The proposal also fits ACT’s wider economic platform: productive investment, high-value jobs, reduced regulatory friction. Whether crypto delivers on those promises at scale is a separate debate. But the party is clearly betting that the next wave of financial innovation runs through digital assets, and it wants New Zealand positioned to catch some of that wave rather than watch it break somewhere else.
Nicole McKee and ACT hold 11 seats in a Parliament where they’d need broader coalition support to move any of this into law.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly does ACT’s crypto tax proposal cover?
ACT wants to waive capital gains tax on cryptocurrency held by individual retail investors for more than one year, and also exempt small crypto purchases used as payments from taxation.
Would professional crypto traders benefit from ACT’s proposed tax exemption?
No — the exemption is specifically limited to individual retail investors. Professional traders and businesses would not qualify under the proposal as currently outlined.
Why It Matters
The ACT Party's proposal to exempt long-term retail investors from capital gains tax on cryptocurrency could significantly influence market behavior and investment strategies in New Zealand, potentially encouraging more individuals to enter the crypto space. By providing a clear regulatory framework that favors long-term holding, the initiative may enhance market stability and attract more capital, as investors might feel more secure in their investments without the burden of immediate tax implications. This move also reflects a growing global trend toward more favorable regulatory environments for cryptocurrencies, which can impact perceptions and policies in other jurisdictions.
