The National Party is adamant it will be able to tax Chinese foreign buyers of luxury homes.
National's own tax expert has said discussing it is like "dancing on the head of a pin", so what does he mean by that?
To give tax cuts, the National Party is banking on selling luxury homes worth more than $2 million to foreigners and taxing them 15 percent.
"At the moment they have been banned entirely from buying homes so what we are offering is a step forward from a situation that is bad for them," said National finance spokesperson Nicola Willis.
A lot of those buyers would likely need to be from China because they made up so much of the market before the foreign buyer ban.
But there's a tax treaty New Zealand inked in 2019, which clearly states Aotearoa can't tax Chinese buyers more than Kiwis.
"There ain't no way it adds up, Nicola," Labour finance spokesperson Grant Robertson told Willis during The Post finance debate earlier this week.
"Chinese buyers will be captured," Willis hit back.
National's taken the advice of tax expert Robin Oliver. He said New Zealand's treaty only applies to income tax - not extra taxes.
"I think we can without there being an issue with the treaty because that's an issue of us giving preferential treatment to a group of countries - including New Zealand - not adverse treatment."
But if China has an issue with the plan, he said it's ultimately an issue for the two countries to negotiate.
"It's a very fine distinction here, we're dancing on the head of pins here as you often are with these things."
Robertson said: "You cannot make such a significant policy when it's dancing on the head of a pin to know whether it's even possible to include Chinese buyers."
Willis denied National was dancing on the head of a pin.
China's Ambassador has already warned it's watching and Newshub understands during the negotiations of New Zealand's tax treaty with China, it was the Chinese who pushed for the strengthened non-discrimination clause.
"If there are going to be changes the other Government has to agree," said Robertson.
"There's no guarantee that China will agree here. Once again National has put up a dodgy policy with dodgy numbers."
Willis is 100 percent certain National will be able to do it - but that belief relies on China's cooperation.
