The Government's freshly opened books reveal a slight jump in GST revenue and money from the tobacco tax over the past year, but a fall in fuel excise duty.
The Financial Statements of Government (FSG) released on Wednesday revealed a total tax haul of $107.9b, up from $97.4b in 2021 and larger than the $103.2b forecast in the May Budget. There was an overall deficit in the year to June 30, 2022 of $9.7b due to significant spending on the COVID-19 response.
The tax take was driven by increases in the amount New Zealanders are paying on their income (up $4.3b or 11 percent) and a big jump in corporate tax revenue (up $4.1b or 26.2 percent).
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) netted the Government $26.1b, up from $25.6b the year prior, due to a growth in private consumption.
"GST revenue growth (2.2 percent) was below the annual average growth in CPI inflation (6.8 percent) mainly owing to growth in private consumption (4.8 percent) being lower than the rate of inflation," Treasury says.
"In addition, an estimated $0.8 billion of GST revenue was recognised in the 2020/21 fiscal year from additional activity following the lifting of the initial COVID-19 lockdown."
A total of $7.4b was also received through what's referred to as 'other indirect taxation'. That includes revenue the Government receives through various excise duties and road user charges, but not through GST.
Excise duties are a tax levied on the domestic production of the likes of alcohol, tobacco and fuel, some of which increase annually. If an "excisable" product is imported, a duty can be imposed at the equivalent rate as if it was manufactured in New Zealand.
The 2021/22 'other indirect taxation' total is down from $7.7b in the previous financial year, but slightly above the $7.2b forecast at the May Budget.
Tobacco excise and duty increased over the past year, from $1.64b in 2021 to $1.87b in 2022. That's despite the May Budget figures projecting it to fall to $1.62b. Treasury says the above-forecast result is due to tobacco companies rebuilding stock levels after a decline the previous year.
The Government's decision to slash fuel excise duty by 25 cents a litre and road user charges by the equivalent rate has had an impact on the tax haul.
The cuts were first made in March to support New Zealanders as fuel prices rose quickly off the back of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While they were originally intended for just three months, the supports were extended at the Budget and then again in July until January.
Treasury's books show petroleum fuels excise and duty fell from $2.1b in 2021 to $1.7b in 2022, while road and track charges decreased from $1.9b to $1.8b.
There was also slight shifts in the amount received through alcohol excise and duty (down from $1.25b to $1.24b) and "miscellaneous indirect taxation" (from $554m to $516m). Other customs duties rose from $169m to $178m.
