Pauline Hanson vows to slash cigarette prices by nearly $30 a pack
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has proposed a 75% cut to tobacco taxes to combat the illicit black market trade in Australia. The government remains opposed to the tax cuts, favoring law enforcement measures to address organized crime involvement in tobacco sales.
Why it matters
This debate illustrates the tension between public health taxation policies and the unintended consequence of fueling organized crime through high excise duties.
Pauline Hanson wants to massively cut the taxes on tobacco. ( ABC News: Keane Bourke )
One Nation wants to slash the tax on cigarettes by 75 per cent and freeze indexation for three years, saying a cut to the tobacco excise will help make the black market trade unprofitable.
The tobacco commissioner says more than half of all tobacco consumed in Australia is now coming from the black market, which has led to as much as $12 billion in taxes being lost each year.
The federal government says it will continue to pursue a law enforcement response to the illicit tobacco trade, following recent raids on more than 100 retailers suspected of dealing in black-market tobacco.
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