ACT leader David Seymour is claiming a taxpayer victory after National announced an alternative to a bed-night levy that would instead direct a share of existing government revenue towards councils dealing with the costs of tourism.
Seymour says National’s announcement follows ACT’s Local Tourism Dividend proposal and demonstrates the influence his party is having on the direction of centre-right economic policy heading into Election 2026.
The ACT leader is also using the announcement to reinforce one of his party’s central campaign messages — no new taxes.
ACT CLAIMS IT SHIFTED THE DEBATE
Seymour says ACT proposed its Local Tourism Dividend after rejecting calls for a new bed tax, arguing councils could be supported without imposing another charge on visitors and accommodation businesses.
National has now ruled out a bed-night levy and proposed using revenue collected through the existing International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy to provide funding to councils.
Under National’s proposal, councils with significant international visitor numbers would receive a share of visitor levy revenue to help fund tourism-related infrastructure, services and destination activity.
Seymour says the shift demonstrates ACT’s ability to influence policy even when it is not the largest party in government.
His argument is that ACT first draws a line against additional taxation and then develops alternatives using existing government revenue.
AUCKLAND STILL WANTS MORE
The announcement has not ended the debate.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has welcomed National’s proposed funding as a step forward but says the approximately $19.1 million expected for Auckland in the first year remains around $8 million short of the roughly $27 million the city says it needs annually for major events and destination marketing.
Brown continues to favour a modest bed-night levy that would collect revenue from people using commercial accommodation in Auckland.
He argues visitors should contribute towards the infrastructure, services and events supporting the visitor economy rather than leaving those costs primarily with Auckland ratepayers.
That creates a clear difference between Auckland’s preferred approach and the position now being advanced by ACT and National.
SEYMOUR SAYS DON’T MAKE GOVERNMENT BIGGER
ACT argues its approach avoids establishing another tax collection system.
Seymour says a tourism dividend would not add a new charge to hotel bills, would avoid additional compliance costs for accommodation businesses and would not require the bureaucracy needed to administer a separate tax.
Instead, ACT wants central and local government to work within the revenue they already collect.
Under ACT’s original proposal, councils would initially receive funding calculated at a rate of $1 per international visitor night, with the possibility of increasing that amount if government finances allow and councils demonstrate the money is being used effectively.
For Seymour, that represents a fundamentally different philosophy from establishing a permanent new revenue stream through another levy.
ACT MAKES TAX ITS ELECTION BATTLEGROUND
The tourism debate is also being used to reinforce ACT’s broader election positioning.
Seymour says ACT has helped prevent additional taxes during the current Government’s term and points to proposals involving banks, property transactions and visitor accommodation as examples of taxes his party opposes.
He says ACT ministers have driven $14 billion in savings across three Budgets, arguing spending restraint has reduced the need for additional borrowing or taxation.
Those are ACT’s characterisations of its influence and economic record, and they are likely to be challenged as parties compete over tax, spending and public services during the election campaign.
Seymour nevertheless wants voters to see ACT as the party capable of constraining both government spending and any future appetite within National for additional taxation.
WHO PAYS FOR TOURISM?
Behind the political contest is a genuine funding problem confronting some of New Zealand’s biggest visitor destinations.
Tourists generate substantial economic activity, supporting hotels, hospitality, retail, transport and employment.
But large visitor numbers also create costs.
Councils must provide roads, public spaces, toilets, waste services, transport infrastructure and other facilities used by visitors as well as residents.
The argument is therefore not simply whether tourism should be supported, but who should pay for the infrastructure required to support it.
Auckland’s preferred bed-night levy places more of that responsibility directly on people staying in commercial accommodation.
ACT’s approach would instead redistribute existing government revenue without creating a new local tax.
National’s latest proposal moves it closer to that second model.
COALITION PARTNERS COMPETE FOR CREDIT
The episode also highlights an increasingly important dynamic ahead of Election 2026.
National, ACT and New Zealand First may currently govern together, but they are also competitors for party votes.
ACT is therefore keen to demonstrate what difference its presence around the Cabinet table has made and what influence a stronger ACT vote could have on another National-led government.
For Seymour, National adopting a version of the tourism dividend provides an opportunity to make precisely that case.
The message ACT will take into the campaign is straightforward: when pressure comes for another tax, it wants voters to see ACT as the party applying the brakes.
And with Auckland still pushing for its own visitor levy, the argument over who pays for New Zealand’s booming visitor economy is unlikely to end here.
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