State Premier says lower tobacco tax

News.com.au reports:

NSW Premier Chris Minns has weighed in on calls to lower the tobacco tax, claiming the eyewatering-high excise was fueling crime in the state.

The announcement piles even more pressure on the Albanese government to slash the extortionate tax, which is believed to be behind a spate of firebombings and shootings in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Australian tax is A$1.49 per cigarette, more than NZ which is NZ$0.83 per cigarette.

Relying on information from the police, the Labor premier said he believed the recent crime wave was being driven by gangs fighting to control the lucrative illicit tobacco market.

It comes as damning data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates 80 per cent of tobacco and nicotine products in Australia are illegal.

The evidence is very strong that the high excise rate has led to a huge crime wave and massive black market surge.