Tobacco tax hike drives up cost of living for beneficiaries, Maori

Sun, 28 Apr 2019

By Paul McBeth April 29 (BusinessDesk) - The government's annual 10 percent hike on cigarettes and tobacco was most keenly felt among the country's poorest, resulting in a higher cost of living for beneficiaries and Maori. Stats NZ figures show the cost of living for beneficiaries rose 0.6 percent in the three months through March, and rose 0.4 percent for Maori. The national average increase in the cost of living for the period was 0.1 percent. The government department said that was primarily due to more expensive cigarettes and tob...

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