Ryan Bridge: It's obvious National and Labour are fighting for centre votes

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Sep 21, 2026 · 2m · transcript

Labour has finally seen the light on interest deductibility.

That's where a landlord, like any other legitimate business in New Zealand, is able to deduct the expense of its capital borrowing, i.e. a mortgage, against taxable income.

After expenses, what's left over is taxed.

This is a genuine surprise to me. The word I'd been getting from some Labour MPs, and the industry, was that they would allow a 50% deduction rather than the current 100%.

Of course, the deduction has always made sense and arguments against made little.

"Housing shouldn't be a business because it's essential" has always…