Uber in New Zealand: The Business of Misclassification
This report from CICTAR, and Workers First Union in Aotearoa/New Zealand, argues that multinational rideshare and delivery giant Uber appears to be shifting hundreds of millions in misclassified profits out of New Zealand, costing the country millions in tax revenue.
The report examines Uber’s local and global business practices and approach to revenue and taxation, concluding that Uber’s practice of misclassification extends beyond its exploitation of New Zealand employment law and exists as a foundational principle of the business.
The report describes Uber’s treatment of service fees - the fee drivers pay the company to use its platform - as its source of declared revenue rather than the fare paid by passengers.
In 2024, New Zealand’s Court of Appeal confirmed the Employment Court’s original ruling from 2022, which found that Uber had misclassified a group of Uber drivers as ‘contractors’, which denied them access to minimum wages, sick leave, the right to collectively bargain and other entitlements. This report argues that misclassification itself sits at the heart of the Uber model.
Taxing digital service providers is a huge challenge for regulators, but failure to do so will see a growing proportion of economic activity in New Zealand recorded as digital services provided by overseas companies.
Dennis Maga, Workers First General Secretary, said the report’s conclusions would be "shocking" to Uber union members and should motivate politicians to close loopholes in law that allowed predatory multinationals to take advantage of New Zealanders and the country’s infrastructure.
No allegation of illegality or illegal behaviour is intended by any of the individuals or entities mentioned in this report, and any suggestion to the contrary is strongly refuted by the authors. Utmost care has been taken to ensure all facts presented are accurate, and references have been provided wherever possible. A number of key questions and allegations were put to the company for comment, but no response was provided. Any future response will be published here.
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