Labour failed but New Zealand can’t put a wealth tax ‘back in the bottle’

The wealth tax contemplated by New Zealand Labour would have required couples to pay an annual levy of 1.5% on any assets they held over a $10m threshold. Photograph: David Wall/Alamy

Licking its wounds from October’s election defeat, the New Zealand Labour party faces an internal struggle over a question that could define its recent past and its future electoral prospects: whether to campaign for a tax on the assets of the country’s wealthiest individuals.

Insiders say party members still feel “anger and disappointment” about the “captain’s call” by leader Chris Hipkins to rule out running on a wealth tax in this year’s election.