HALIFAX, NS: The Canadian Taxpayers (CTF) is asserting that information obtained through the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIPOP) shows the amount of tax-free tobacco sold, ostensibly to Status Indians in Nova Scotia, is so high it defies common sense and points to millions being lost in the black market.
According to numbers obtained by FOIPOP from Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, over 137 million cigarettes were sold tax-free for the personal use of Status Indians in 2011-12. There are only 14,989 Status Indians in Nova Scotia, making up 1.5 per cent of the entire population. Yet, 13.3 per cent of all tobacco sold in the province was sold on reserve, officially for the personal use of Status Indians.
“There’s only two explanations for these numbers; either there is some sort of unprecedented smoking epidemic on Nova Scotia reserves, or the more likely explanation, much of the tax-free tobacco is being sold illegally to people who are not Status Indians,” said Kevin Lacey, Atlantic Director with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “These numbers show that the government is losing millions in illegal tobacco sales.”
The CTF notes that these numbers only include tobacco that is sold by wholesalers to Nova Scotia reserves, so the overall contraband problem could be much worse.
The CTF says these numbers point to the need for the province to investigate tax-free tobacco sold on Native reserves.
“We need our politicians to stand up, do the right thing and demand an investigation into tax-free tobacco sales on reserves,” concluded Lacey.
The FOIPOP can be viewed HERE
Backgrounder information including CTF calculations and additional details can be found HERE
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