Reference: 20250616
1 October 2025
Chris McCashin
[FYI request #32104 email]
Dear Chris
I refer to your request made under the Official Information Act, received on 24 August 2025.
You requested:
1. Annual Payments to International Organizations:
•
Please provide a breakdown of the annual payments made by New Zealand to
international organizations, including but not limited to:
o
United Nations (UN): annual contributions
o
World Health Organization (WHO): annual contributions
o
Other UN agencies: annual contributions (please specify)
2. Bank Debt Interest Payments:
•
Please provide the total annual interest payments made by New Zealand on its
debts to international banks, including:
o
Asian Development Bank (ADB): annual interest payments
o
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD): annual
interest payments
o
Other international banks: annual interest payments (please specify)
3. Other Global Commitments:
•
Please provide information on any other annual payments made by New Zealand
in fulfillment of global commitments, including:
o
Climate change initiatives: annual payments
o
Sustainable development goals: annual payments
o
Other global initiatives: annual payments (please specify)
Timeframe: Please provide the information for 2015 - this year
Format: I would appreciate it if you could provide the information in a digital format (e.g.,
PDF or CSV).
4. Please also include the total tax take from kiwis from that date per year.
On 5 September 2025 you confirmed that you are seeking the total annual interest payments
made by New Zealand on its debts to both multi-lateral development banks and commercial
banks.
On 8 September 2025 parts 1 and 3 were transferred to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
for a response.
1 The Terrace
PO Box 3724
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
tel. +64-4-472-2733
https://treasury.govt.nz
Part 2 - Bank Debt Interest Payments
a) Total annual interest payments to Multinational Development Banks for the period 2015-
2025
New Zealand is not a borrower from multilateral development banks, therefore does not pay
any annual interest payments to these institutions.
b) Total annual interest payments to Commercial International Banks for the period 2015-
2025
I have searched my records and have not located any information within the scope of this
part of your request. Therefore, your request for the above information is refused under
section 18(e) of the Official Information Act – the document alleged to contain the information
requested does not exist or cannot be found.
As government securities can be purchased using a nominated company, it is not always
possible to know who the end holder is. Further information about the dollar amount of New
Zealand interest payments can be found in the publicly available Crown Financial Statements
at https://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/financial-statements-government. Part 4 – Total tax take from kiwis
I have set out below New Zealand’s total tax take which includes tax revenue from both New
Zealand taxpayers and non-citizen taxpayers, in lieu of your request for the tax-take from
kiwis. While there is some separation on income tax by status as a tax resident or non-tax
resident, this is a different definition of residency than ordinarily used. For a large portion of
the tax take (e.g., GST) the citizenship of the taxpayer is not identifiable.
Forecast
Years
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Core Crown
Tax
Revenue
($ millions)
66,636
70,445
75,644
80,224
86,468
85,102
97,983
108,458
112,358
120,566
120,894
Should you wish to see a more comprehensive break-down (or further information) about the
New Zealand’s interest payments or tax take on an annual basis, please refer to the Crown
financial statements linked above.
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Please note that this letter (with your personal details removed) may be published on the
Treasury website.
This reply addresses the information you requested. Under section 28(3) of the Act, you have
the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any decisions made under this request. The
Ombudsman may be contacted by email at:
[email address] or by calling
0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
John Beaglehole
Manager, International
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