ACT's Small Business Policy
ACT's small business policy centres on reducing the regulatory burden, cutting ACC levies, simplifying employment law, reducing minimum wage mandates, and allowing 90-day trials. They argue small businesses are harmed most by overregulation and compliance costs.
In simple terms
Cut the rules and fees that burden small businesses, simplify employment law, and let businesses try workers for 90 days without risk.
Impact to New Zealanders
Small business owners save money on compliance; workers gain less job security, shifting risk from employers to employees.
Reduced hiring protections discourage workers from reporting unsafe conditions, creating hidden workplace hazard clusters in smaller firms.
Weaker worker protections concentrate skill development in large firms; small business productivity growth stalls despite lower costs.
Green Party's Small Business Policy
The Green Party supports local and community enterprises, co-operatives, and social enterprises. They propose procurement policies favouring local businesses, support for businesses transitioning to sustainable practices, and using the tax system to level the playing field against large corporations.
In simple terms
Favour local businesses in government contracts, help small businesses go green, support co-operatives, and stop large companies from having unfair tax advantages.
Impact to New Zealanders
Government contract costs rise as smaller local suppliers charge more than established large competitors, increasing public spending.
Small businesses that can't afford green upgrades fall behind, concentrating market share among better-resourced competitors despite policy intent.
New Zealand exports become less competitive globally if domestic small suppliers stay smaller than international rivals, pressuring wages.
Labour's Small Business Policy
Labour established the Small Business Council, introduced digital invoicing, provided COVID-19 wage subsidies to protect small businesses, and created the Regional Business Partner programme. They also introduced the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme during the pandemic.
In simple terms
Support small businesses with advice and mentoring, help them go digital, and provide emergency support when things get tough.
Impact to New Zealanders
Small businesses hire more staff to handle digital transition, reducing unemployment but increasing wage pressure for entry-level workers across the economy.
Digitised small businesses compete more effectively with large chains, keeping local spending local—but some traditional service providers (accountants, bookkeepers) lose clients to automated tools.
Successful small businesses grow into medium enterprises, potentially moving headquarters or outsourcing overseas for cost efficiency, reducing local tax base and employment gains.
National's Small Business Policy
National focuses on reducing compliance costs, faster GST and tax refunds, digital government services for businesses, cutting red tape, and maintaining 90-day trial periods. They aim to create a more business-friendly regulatory environment to help SMEs grow.
In simple terms
Cut red tape for small businesses, get them their tax refunds faster, improve online government services, and keep the rules simple.
Impact to New Zealanders
Small businesses save time on paperwork and get cash faster, but larger firms with compliance staff gain less advantage, widening competition gaps.
Simpler rules mean fewer environmental or safety compliance checks, so cost savings accrue to businesses but oversight costs shift to councils and health agencies.
Reduced regulatory burden attracts more small-business startups, but fewer become large employers; New Zealand's productivity growth plateaus as mid-size firms don't emerge.
NZ First's Small Business Policy
NZ First supports local businesses over large multinational chains, buy-NZ campaigns, reducing compliance for regional businesses, and maintaining competitive power prices for manufacturing. They also support the Callaghan Innovation fund for business R&D.
In simple terms
Buy NZ-made and support local businesses over multinationals, cut compliance costs for regional businesses, and fund business innovation.
Impact to New Zealanders
Local businesses face higher input costs when multinationals withdraw, forcing price increases that hurt budget-conscious households most.
Regional compliance cost cuts create unequal playing field where small towns thrive but large cities see regulatory arbitrage and talent drain.
Protected local innovation lacks competitive pressure, risking stagnation while global competitors advance, gradually making NZ exports less competitive internationally.
Te Pāti Māori's Small Business Policy
Te Pāti Māori supports investment in the Māori economy and Māori-owned small businesses, preferential government procurement from Māori enterprises, access to capital for Māori entrepreneurs, and removing barriers to business on Māori land.
In simple terms
Invest in Māori-owned businesses, give Māori enterprises preference for government contracts, help Māori entrepreneurs access funding, and remove barriers to business on Māori land.
Impact to New Zealanders
Non-Māori small suppliers lose some government contracts, forcing them to compete harder or exit certain markets.
Māori business networks strengthen, but some regions lack enough Māori suppliers, causing delays and higher costs for government services.
Wealth concentration among successful Māori business owners grows, potentially widening inequality within Māori communities if benefits don't spread broadly.
TOP's Small Business Policy
TOP supports R&D tax credits for small and medium enterprises, strengthening Commerce Commission powers to break up duopolies that harm small business suppliers (particularly in groceries and building materials), the Impact Company legal structure, and the Land Value Tax which they argue will reduce commercial rents by taxing land rather than buildings.
In simple terms
R&D credits for small businesses, break up the supermarket and hardware duopolies that squeeze small suppliers, and a new social enterprise company structure. The land tax also aims to reduce the cost of commercial premises.
Impact to New Zealanders
R&D credits attract tech startups to cities, raising commercial rents faster than land tax can reduce them, hurting non-tech small businesses.
Supermarket duopoly break-up increases supplier options but fragments supply chains, raising logistics costs that smaller retailers struggle to absorb.
Social enterprise structure becomes niche alternative, while mainstream businesses remain conventional—creating two-tier economy with different tax treatments and unequal competitive advantages.