Head to head
Queenstown (New Zealand) vs Sydney.
🇳🇿 New Zealand against 🇦🇺 Australia, on tax, residence, cost, and the life. Same model, same year, no brochure.
🇳🇿 New Zealand against 🇦🇺 Australia, on tax, residence, cost, and the life. Same model, same year, no brochure.
| Queenstown (New Zealand) | Sydney | |
|---|---|---|
| Effective tax at $300K | 35% | 40% |
| Effective tax at $1M | 38% | 45% |
| Effective tax at $3M | 39% | 46% |
| Kept at $1M | $623K | $552K |
| Capital gains | 0% | 24% |
| Cost index (Zurich 100) | 95 | 90 |
| Safety | 10/10 | 9/10 |
| Schools | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Sun hours | 1,900 | 2,590 |
| Supercar street index | #58 | #38 |
| Routes in | Golden visa, Founder & talent | Founder & talent |
| Net millionaire inflow 2025 (country, Henley) | n/a | +1,000 |
| Flight London | 23.9 | 21.6 |
| Flight New York | 19.2 | 20.4 |
Simplified marginal model, indicative 2026 brackets, non-US single filer, no social contributions, deductions, wealth taxes, or treaties.
Queenstown (New Zealand) keeps more of a $1M salary, $71K a year on this model. Sydney answers with schools.
Capital gains: Queenstown (New Zealand) 0%, Sydney 24%. The order of operations, move then sell or sell then move, decides more than the rate. Neither city taxes wealth as such.
Sydney leads on schools, a lower cost and sun, Queenstown (New Zealand) on safety.
The engine takes what you earn and what you hold, then orders every address on the board against it.
Rank the board against my position →90 seconds. No account, no payment.
Tax figures use a simplified marginal model with indicative 2026 brackets for a non-US single filer, ignore social contributions, most deductions, wealth taxes, and treaties, and are not advice. Residence rules change often. Verify before acting.