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Story: Taxes

Tax take

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The ratio of tax to the country’s production of goods and services (its gross domestic product or GDP) has increased over time. Large jumps occurred with both world wars, with the election of the first Labour government in 1935 (which introduced the welfare state) and after the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) in 1986.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Paul Goldsmith, We won, you lost, eat that! Auckland: David Ling, 2008, p. 334; OECD, Tax revenue statistics, 1965–2006 (last accessed 13 February 2009); and Statistics New Zealand

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How to cite this page

Paul Goldsmith, Taxes – Taxation – 1840 to the 1880s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/21525/tax-take (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Paul Goldsmith, published 27 October 2009, updated 2 September 2016.