Cigarettes could hit $40 in Australian tax hike

The cost of a packet of cigarettes could rise to $40 (€26) after Australia’s Federal Government confirmed a hike in the tobacco excise as part of the 2016 Budget.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann confirmed the Budget would contain a 12.5% annual increase in tobacco excise to 2020.

The measure is a copy of a Labour policy. But leaked Treasury modelling shows a $19.5 billion (€12.7b) funding hole in Labour’s revenue estimates for the measure.