Poll tax on Chinese immigrants abolished

The Finance Act (No. 3) 1944 abolished the poll tax introduced in 1881, which was described by Minister of Finance Walter Nash as a ‘blot on our legislation’.

A public meeting held in Dunedin in 1871 had called unanimously for a ban on further Chinese migrants joining those who had arrived since the mid-1860s. As work on the goldfields became harder to find, anti-Chinese prejudice increased. With the Chinese Immigrants Act 1881, New Zealand followed the example of Canada and the Australian colonies by imposing entry taxes on Chinese immigrants. A ‘poll tax’ of £10 a head (equivalent to $1750 today) was introduced, and ships arriving in New Zealand were restricted to one Chinese passenger per 10 tons of cargo. In 1896 this ratio was reduced to one passenger to 200 tons of cargo, and the poll tax was increased to £100 ($20,000).