Let’s talk politics—but not the boring, fall-asleep-in-the-high-school-hall kind. We’re talking about a tax that could’ve helped fund your kid’s school lunches, speech therapy, or that local maternity ward that still has curtains from 1982. And guess what? It just got scrapped. Because of Donald Trump.
So here’s what just happened: New Zealand had a plan—a decent one, honestly—to finally make tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon pay their fair share of taxes in our country. It wasn’t much. Just a 3% tax on the massive amounts of money they make from us—our clicks, our data, our desperate 2am Google searches for “teething baby won’t sleep help me.”
But that plan? It’s been thrown in the bin. Why? Because Trump spat the dummy.
Let’s break it down like you would for your 6-year-old trying to understand why the Easter Bunny has the same handwriting as Mum.
What Was the Digital Services Tax?
In short: Big Tech makes big bucks here in Aotearoa. They use our roads, our internet cables, our workers, our laws—and then swoop the profits back to the U.S. without paying much tax here.
The Digital Services Tax (DST) was a bill that said: Oi, if you’re earning money from Kiwi customers, at least chuck us 3% so we can, I don’t know, fund public hospitals and keep the school pool open.
Sounds fair, right?
Enter: the tantrum.
Trump Called It “Overseas Extortion”
Earlier this year, Trump basically said, “Touch our tech companies and we’ll slap tariffs on your exports.” That’s like your toddler stealing your car keys and threatening to call CYF if you take them back.
He accused countries like ours of “plundering” American companies. Yep. Because apparently asking billion-dollar corporations to contribute is now piracy.
Instead of calling the bluff, New Zealand’s government folded. Revenue Minister Simon Watts said they’ve been “monitoring international developments” and decided the tax wasn’t in NZ’s “best interests.”
Translation? “We didn’t want to poke the orange bear.”
What’s $100 Million to a Mum?
Here’s why you should care—because $100 million a year could’ve gone toward stuff that actually matters to us as parents:
-
Free dental care for kids over 13
-
School lunches for every student
-
Shorter hospital waitlists
-
More funding for early childhood centres
-
Free mental health care for teens (hello, hormones and high school)
Treasury already had that money in the books. Between 2027 and 2029, the tax was forecast to bring in nearly half a billion dollars. That’s not couch-change. That’s fix-the-system money.
Now? Poof. Gone.
And maybe that’s the part that stings the most. This wasn’t just about spreadsheets and legislation. It was a moment of truth—and we flinched.
We Caved. And That Should Scare You.
In our opinion, this wasn’t diplomacy. It was cowardice.
New Zealand had a clear, well-researched plan to make digital behemoths pay a fraction of what they earn from us. Three percent. That’s it. Less than what you pay in card fees at your local café.
But the second Trump raised his voice, we backed down like a kid caught sneaking biscuits before dinner. We didn’t even test the policy. We didn’t say, “Let’s trial it and see what happens.” We just tossed the whole thing out like last week’s leftovers.
And for what? The fear of tariffs? The discomfort of being glared at by a man who ran his country like a reality show?
This wasn’t about what’s fair. This was about who has power—and who doesn’t.
Because here’s the truth: If New Zealand can’t stand its ground on this—on asking foreign billion-dollar companies to contribute the tiniest slice of tax—then what happens when something bigger comes along? When the pressure’s even greater? When the stakes are life or death?
We caved over a tax. And that should scare you.
And now, instead of leading, we’re sitting on the sidelines, hoping the rest of the world comes up with something better. But in the meantime? That revenue—hundreds of millions—is gone. And the gap it leaves? You better believe it’ll land back on the shoulders of everyday families.
So… What Now?
Well, the DST bill is dead. But the fight isn’t over.
The global conversation about taxing Big Tech is still alive and brewing. And New Zealand could still come back to the table with a better plan—or at least a backbone.
In the meantime, keep talking. Keep asking questions.
Because if anyone knows how to stretch $100 million and make it count? It’s a Kiwi mum on a tight budget, juggling work, whānau, and a school trip permission slip she forgot to sign.
Let’s make some noise.
