Tobacco tax on the increase.

[Gareth51]

My first packet cost me a couple of bob, you know your got to spend your money on something besides wild woman and booze

[Mudfart]

yeah they pay for the health care of the non smokers who contract illness from passive smoking....and they contribute to the friday and saturday night a&e drunks......

[Mudfart]

Yeah but how long before people get angry enough to tell them to get fucked? Thats going to take ages. The govt just wants more cash to run their political machine. More cash = more promises = longer in power.

No one is angry enough to do anything about it.

Steve

yeah NZ is a great place to govern, you can do what you want, take kickbacks, bribes etc, let the maoris claim most of the land, make untouchable national parks, but let people mine them........and the public will moan and gripe, but no revolution. no risk of the mp's having their heads chopped off. Viva la revolutione!. every once in a while you've got to chop off a polititians head, to remind them of how important their job is.

[oldrider]

There will be more crime, black market cigarettes, the gangs will make a killing! Dumb move in my opinion!

[pete376403]

So this is why they raided all the hydroponics garden suppliers, to stop smokers having an alternative to highly taxed tobacco?

is it legal to grow tobacco for your own consumption?

[freedom-wedge]

There will be more crime, black market cigarettes, the gangs will make a killing! Dumb move in my opinion!

To true, I think the focus is revenue, its obvious really, and so easy to do these days. Booze will be the next hit and soon by all acounts.
Then anything else they can find that people are addicted to for various reasons, a round of golf anyone ??? only thing is there's a gov surcharge for playing the 18th. Your gonna bitch and moan but they know your gonna T off on the 18th anyway. And no I dont smoke or chase the little round ball.

Pedro

[freedom-wedge]

There will be more crime, black market cigarettes, the gangs will make a killing! Dumb move in my opinion!

To true, I think the focus is revenue, its obvious really, and so easy to do these days. Booze will be the next hit and soon by all acounts.
Then anything else they can find that people are addicted to for various reasons, a round of golf anyone ??? only thing is there's a gov surcharge for playing the 18th. Your gonna bitch and moan but they know your gonna T off on the 18th anyway. And no I dont smoke or chase the little round ball.

Pedro

[freedom-wedge]

sorry for the dbl post, puter running slow and hit the post button twice

[Motig]

Dont smoke but am mightily pissed off with the Nats and their smiling donkey conman frontman. In return for a huge tax cut of approx $4 there just seems to be a never ending rise in other taxes ie GST (coming), ACC, ETS (coming), Excise tax, plus a reduction in services ie Elderly care etc. The majority of increases justified by creative accounting. Just cant understand how they continually have such a lead in the polls. Just an aside wasn't John Key known as the 'smiling assassain' in his previous life ?

[Bald Eagle]

Dont smoke but am mightily pissed off with the Nats and their smiling donkey conman frontman. In return for a huge tax cut of approx $4 there just seems to be a never ending rise in other taxes ie GST (coming), ACC, ETS (coming), Excise tax, plus a reduction in services ie Elderly care etc. The majority of increases justified by creative accounting. Just cant understand how they continually have such a lead in the polls. Just an aside wasn't John Key known as the 'smiling assassain' in his previous life ?

Wouldn't be so bad if the extra revenue provided fully funded quit smoking treatments for addicts, but according to todays media its just going into the general fund. Smart John Key sacrifice Maori Party popularity and get the extra dosh as well.

[mashman]

Dont smoke but am mightily pissed off with the Nats and their smiling donkey conman frontman. In return for a huge tax cut of approx $4 there just seems to be a never ending rise in other taxes ie GST (coming), ACC, ETS (coming), Excise tax, plus a reduction in services ie Elderly care etc. The majority of increases justified by creative accounting. Just cant understand how they continually have such a lead in the polls. Just an aside wasn't John Key known as the 'smiling assassain' in his previous life ?

because there's still no other viable alternative party to vote for... that's why they have the lead... unless you offer people more money in their pockets you can pretty much forget becoming the next government

[oldrider]

Placating the Maori party influence and securing their support in forming a government next election, Key is buying Honi Hariwera"s support!

This is an indicator of what to expect from MMP next year!

Politicians are not interested in "your" problems, getting re elected to the trough, is "their" only priority!

[Milts]

Sorry to all of those who think it's purely about revenue and believe that smoking related tax is hundreds of millions above smoking related health costs.
From Fairfax thismorning:

The increase in excise will account for an extra $200 million a year in government revenue, with tobacco taxes raising about $1.3 billion annually.

But it says that is still around $500m less than the cost of treating smokers for smoking-related illnesses.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...cked-in-wallet

So unless you can find some numbers saying otherwise, it looks like smoking related costs are still well above the new tax rises and not the other way around.

[DMNTD:Me]

Sorry to all of those who think it's purely about revenue and believe that smoking related tax is hundreds of millions above smoking related health costs.
From Fairfax thismorning:

The increase in excise will account for an extra $200 million a year in government revenue, with tobacco taxes raising about $1.3 billion annually.

But it says that is still around $500m less than the cost of treating smokers for smoking-related illnesses.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...cked-in-wallet

So unless you can find some numbers saying otherwise, it looks like smoking related costs are still well above the new tax rises and not the other way around.

Heh!! Sounds like a similar 'argument' ACC just used on motorcyclists.
As per usual, stats can be interpreted several ways

[Bald Eagle]

Sorry to all of those who think it's purely about revenue and believe that smoking related tax is hundreds of millions above smoking related health costs.
From Fairfax thismorning:

The increase in excise will account for an extra $200 million a year in government revenue, with tobacco taxes raising about $1.3 billion annually.

But it says that is still around $500m less than the cost of treating smokers for smoking-related illnesses.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...cked-in-wallet

So unless you can find some numbers saying otherwise, it looks like smoking related costs are still well above the new tax rises and not the other way around.

It's also about the punishment/reward paradigm. I seem to recall you get better results with the carrot rather than the stick, but maybe we are not considered adult enough to appreciate the difference and need to be treated like naughty children.