New Zealand ACT Party Proposes Six Digital Finance Reforms

New Zealand's ACT Party has released a policy paper titled Unlocking New Zealand's Digital Economy, proposing six digital finance reforms. According to Foresight News, the plan calls for clear legal and tax rules for tokenized securities and real-world assets, a dedicated regulatory and tax framework for qualified payment stablecoins, and a financial innovation sandbox for startups to test new products. The paper also proposes a 12-month cutoff under which investment gains from digital assets held long term by individuals would be tax-free, while professional traders and business activity would remain fully taxed. It further seeks a tax exemption for small digital asset purchases and a review of whether current regulation is preventing compliant companies from obtaining bank accounts and other financial services. The ACT Party said tokenized assets could create new sources of investment, stablecoins could make international payments faster and cheaper, and new financial technology could generate high-value companies and jobs. It added that the government should not choose technology winners or predict the next major trend, but should set clear rules, prevent fraud, and then let the market compete.