Finance Minister Grant Robertson denies he is going back on promises he made before the election about introducing no new taxes, and any suggestion otherwise is "speculative". 

During the election campaign, Labour announced they would introduce a new top tax rate of 39 percent, forecast to generate more than $500 million in revenue a year.

On September 9th, Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the party was committing to no new taxes or increases in income tax next term.

When asked if the rate or years of the brightline tax would be changed, Robertson said "no". 

"We will not be implementing any taxes beyond what we announced today," he said. 

Now, there is increased speculation that a brightline test change could be on the cards to deal with a rapid increase in 

House prices have grown 20 per cent in the space of a year, while the rest of the economy grapples with a recession.

As a result, last week Robertson asked the Treasury for advice on how current measures – such as the brightline test and the ring fencing of rental losses – are working, with a view to possibly expanding them.

Speaking with Heather du Plessis-Allan again, Robertson insisted that they have not made any decision yet, and a decision won't be made until after Christmas.

He says that the assumption that the increase to the brightline test is "getting ahead of yourself". 

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Asked if extending it far enough will turn it into a capital gains tax, Robertson says that a CGT is more expansive and extensive. 

"The world did not turn out the way people expected with Covid-19. There was a belief amongst virtually every economist that house prices would go down in the period we're in now. They haven't, the opposite has occurred. It's time for us to look at potential measures."

He says that New Zealanders expect the Government to respond to this, and the consequences of the pandemic give them a "requirement" to look at what's happening. 

He says that the situation is not one that anyone would have predicted. 

"We are now faced with a situation where even between September and October, we've seen a rapid increase in house prices."