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Water and energy prices are fixed, so why not do the same with cigarettes?
Smoking is a major public health threat.
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Research shows that a higher excise tax rate on tobacco would result in a decrease in the number of people who smoke.
Treasurer Scott Morrison may be happy with a budget in balance by 2019-20, but the rising burden on individual taxpayers is a worry.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Personal income taxpayers are shouldering more of the burden, while less revenue is coming from taxes on companies, capital and consumption. Only major reforms will change these sustained trends.
Shao Fei lights a cigarette on a Beijing street in 2015 as a co-worker looks on. Shao said at the time that higher taxes on cigarettes would lead him to stop smoking.
Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Tobacco taxes have been shown to curtail cigarette smoking. Why aren’t more countries, including the US, implementing them effectively?