Chris Hipkins admits he's 'wealthy' as Inland Revenue probes how much tax rich people are paying

Chris Hipkins has admitted he's "wealthy" as Inland Revenue (IRD) prepares to release a report into how much tax New Zealand's wealthiest people and families are paying.

But the Prime Minister still refuses to be drawn on what Labour Party's tax policy will consist of ahead of the election.

Hipkins said he was always happy to pay the tax governments had asked him to pay.

"I regard myself as wealthy in the sense that when I go to the supermarket, I don't have to worry about paying the bill when I get to the checkout," Hipkins told AM's Ryan Bridge on Wednesday.

"When the previous National Government cut my taxes I didn't agree with that - I was happy to continue to contribute more."

Hipkins, who became Prime Minister in January, believed the research being released by IRD on Wednesday would provide "an opportunity for people to see an evidence-base for future tax decision-making".

But "we haven't made decisions based on that yet", he said.

Chris Hipkins.
Chris Hipkins. Photo credit: AM

"Every political party will have access to that same information and they can formulate their tax policies and set them out before the next election," Hipkins said.

"As I've said, we've been clear that we'll be honouring the commitments that we made at the last election for this term of government and we will set out what our tax policy is before the next election so that New Zealanders are clear on that."

The IRD research prompted "a series of questions", Hipkins told AM.

"Of course, we've been asking those questions but we're not announcing any significant changes in tax policy in the next little while.

"People will absolutely see what advice we're given around tax," Hipkins said.

The Prime Minister has previously hinted at tax changes. Just days after being appointed to the top job, he said "we should always look at how we can make the tax system fairer".