From: Financial Review
by Duncan Hughes
Organised crime ‘windfall’ as illegal tobacco consumption rises and taxes fall
Tax revenue from tobacco fell more than $200 million below official estimates despite an increase in the amount of tobacco being smoked and a recent 12.5 per cent rise in excise tax, analysis of federal government research reveals.
Retailers, cigarette companies and experts on illicit trade claim it is more evidence of a booming black market in illegal tobacco, which is estimated to losing the government between $1.5 billion and $4 billion a year in lost tax.
