Tobacco Taxation

Tobacco tax increases are the biggest single factor in the recent drops in Canadian per capita cigarette consumption, which has declined by roughly 20% since the most recent cycle of tax increases began in 2001. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that tax policy is the cornerstone of Canadian tobacco control policy. However,...

In January 2004, the Canadian Coalition for Action on Tobacco released a report, A Win-Win: Enhancing Public Health and Public Revenue , calling on the federal government to close the long-standing loophole which sees roll-your-own tobacco taxed at a far lower rate than a comparable quantity of cigarettes. The report also recommended a $5 per carton...

Tobacco taxation and pricing have been central concerns for SHAF for many years, in part because of the political turbulence surrounding cigarette taxes in Canada. In the 1980s, tobacco use declined substantially here, considerably faster than in the United States and many other Western countries. The main difference was price: under pressure from health groups,...

Summary In February 1994, the federal government significantly decreased tobacco taxes in an effort to eliminate smuggling. It gave provinces an incentive to do the same. The tax cuts resulted in combined federal and provincial revenue losses of more than $1.2 billion in fiscal year 1994-1995. The federal government lost $656 million, more than twice the...