Dairy Representatives State the Obvious: Smoking Bill Will Backfire
December 29, 2022
PHOTO: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Dairy and Business Owners Group chairman Sunny Kaushal said 50 percent of dairy revenue comes from selling tobacco.
“The government wants to reduce the number of cigarette outlets from 6000 to 600. That would mean the existence of thousands of dairies is uncertain,” he said.
He said each of these 600 licenses are the equivalent of winning Dr Ayesha Verrall’s “cigarette powerball.”
“This government not only rips into us for collecting over $2 billion each year in tax we bleed for, but is as hooked on that tobacco excise as smokers are on nicotine.”
“The biggest winners will be the gangs. Forget tinnie houses, say hello to ciggie houses.”
Kaushal wants the government to zero rate the tobacco excise on low nicotine tobacco for the next 27 months.
“They should scrap excise on smokeless tobacco vaping because it’s a lot safer than smoking, we sell some of these products right now, but no one will touch low nicotine tobacco if it costs the same, if not more, than the real thing.”