South Africa
Tobacco tax hike 'spawned illicit trade'─── 05:00 Wed, 14 Apr 2021
A new Ipsos survey shows that the sale of illicit cigarettes in South Africa has spiked.
This following an 8% increase in taxes on tobacco products, with even more worrying findings about retailers carrying these illegal products.
The survey found that 74% of retailers are selling illicit brands, for far less than the minimum taxable amount, according to Fin24.
Tobacco producers say they are outraged by the findings. The results follow tobacco bans under lockdown in 2020, where groups warned that the result would be consumers looking for black market alternatives.
Moneyweb
