Illegal tobacco burns $3.3bn hole in Australia’s tax revenue, crime agency says
The illegal tobacco market has left a $3.3bn hole in the federal government’s finances, with Australia’s national criminal intelligence agency warning organised crime’s dominance of the market is continuing to grow.The Australian Taxation Office believes the illegal trade now accounts for one in five tobacco sales, which has led to reduced tax revenues despite the government’s excise on legal cigarettes reaching almost $30 for a pack of 20 sticks in September.The excise has increased almost eightfold since 2006, when it was $4.65.
The excise increase – designed to reduce rates of smoking – has drawn critics, including the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, who has called on the federal government to undertake a review.The recent surge in Australians looking for cheaper alternatives is proving profitable for organised crime networks, with an estimated $3.3bn in excise avoided in 2023-24, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission revealed in a report on Thursday night.The ACIC’s analysis determined the overall impact of illegal tobacco on Australia – including $700m in related healthcare costs and reduced productivity – totalled $4bn over that 12-month period.It also referenced the escalating violence, or so-called “tobacco wars”, as rival gangs competed for black market profits.
The ACIC noted there had been at least three people killed and more than 200 firebombings related to the growth of the illicit tobacco market since 2023.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailThe Australian Institute of Criminology said the $4bn estimate was “almost certainly an underestimate”, as it did not include e-cigarettes and illegal vapes.In a report released alongside the ACIC analysis, the institute said there had been a “substantial and rapidly expanding market” for vapes since retail stores were banned from selling them.While illicit tobacco trade had grown, the ACIC estimated that it accounted for a small portion of the $82.3bn cost of serious and organised crime to the Australian economy each year.
Of that, illicit drugs were estimated to have a $19bn impact each year, with drug-impaired driving overtaking drink-driving as the leading cause of fatal crashes,The report estimated about $10,9bn was spent on illegal drugs each year, with $6,5bn lost to productivity losses and $1,6bn spent on medical services as a result of drug use.
On Tuesday, Minns said the federal government’s excise was the “leading reason” for the recent boom in illegal tobacco use by the general public,Sign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksafter newsletter promotion“A legal packet of 20 cigarettes costs $50 bucks … and you can pick up an illegal packet of cigarettes for $13,” he told ABC Radio Sydney,“If you look at the economics of this, we are effectively providing a subsidised, cheap … widely available, ubiquitous tobacco industry that is untaxed,” he said,In 2011-12, the federal government pocketed $16,3bn from the excise.
Next financial year, it was forecast to be less than half, at $7.1bn.Treasury forecasts in the May federal budget show the tobacco excise would be slashed by $6.9bn over the next four years.The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has so far rebuffed calls for a review into the excise policy to price Australians out of smoking.
In June, he said he did not think the answer was “to make cigarettes cheaper for people”,
US stock market values tumble amid reports of high layoffs and hiring freezes
Fears that the US economy is slowing, with firms shedding jobs and imposing hiring freezes, sent Wall Street tumbling on Thursday.The S&P 500 index of leading firms was down 1% as investors also highlighted concerns about the potential for a slump in the value of businesses that have benefited from huge investments in artificial intelligence. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%.A report showed that last month was the worst October for US layoffs since 2003, which grabbed the attention of investors in the absence of official data delayed by the federal government shutdown
British Airways to offer free fast onboard wifi to all after Starlink deal
Passengers on British Airways flights will be able to access fast wifi onboard at no cost after the airline’s parent company signed a deal with Elon Musk’s satellite company.The carrier said the free “reliable and lightning-fast” wifi from Starlink would be available to customers flying in economy, business or first class from next month.BA’s owner, International Airlines Group (IAG), said it had reached agreement with Starlink to provide internet connectivity on more than 500 aircraft across its carriers, which also include Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling.BA said the rollout of the technology was part of a £7bn “transformation” and would provide lag-free internet access to passengers from boarding to landing, even when they are flying over oceans or remote regions. Passengers will be able to connect multiple devices and they will not need a special login
How Tesla shareholders could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire
If Elon Musk can grow Tesla to over $8tn in value for stockholders over the next decade, he will be well on his way to becoming the world’s first trillionaire.That is if stockholders approve the company’s latest proposed compensation plan for the “Superstar CEO”, as a judge once called him, at this week’s annual shareholders meeting in Austin, Texas, set for Thursday afternoon.“If Elon achieves all the performance milestones under this principle-based 2025 CEO Performance Award, his leadership will propel Tesla to become the most valuable company in history,” the company’s annual proxy statement boasts.Forward-looking measures on Musk’s compensation of $1tn are not the only issues on the ballot. Shareholders will also consider an alternate avenue to pay Musk the estimated $56bn the company says he is still due from a 2018 compensation plan
Amazon sues AI startup over browser’s automated shopping and buying feature
Amazon sued a prominent artificial intelligence startup on Tuesday over a shopping feature in the company’s browser, which can automate placing orders for users. Amazon accused Perplexity AI of covertly accessing customer accounts and disguising AI activity as human browsing.“Perplexity’s misconduct must end,” Amazon’s lawyers wrote. “Perplexity is not allowed to go where it has been expressly told it cannot; that Perplexity’s trespass involves code rather than a lockpick makes it no less unlawful.”Perplexity, which has grown rapidly amid the boom in AI assistants, has previously rejected the US shopping company’s claims, accusing Amazon of using its market dominance to stifle competition
‘The goal is to win all the final races’: Norris raises bar before São Paulo GP
Lando Norris has acknowledged that he needs to be at the very top of his game to try to secure his first world championship, as the British driver heads into this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix with a narrow one-point lead over his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri.Norris had trailed Piastri by 34 points after the Dutch GP but with a series of strong results including a dominant win from pole to flag at the last round in Mexico, Norris has edged ahead in the title race for the first time since the Saudi Arabian GP in April.Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has also made a late charge to reignite his title defence, recovering from a 104-point deficit to Piastri after Zandvoort to advance to being within 36 points of Norris.Four meetings remain, including two sprint races with one this weekend in Brazil, and with 116 points still available, Norris confirmed his aim was to simply keep winning.“Nothing is completed, nothing is done,” he said
Marcus Smith urged to kickstart England attack against Fiji after setbacks
Steve Borthwick has acknowledged the challenges presented by managing Marcus Smith’s diminished role for England but has urged the recalled playmaker to kickstart his side’s attack against Fiji on Saturday.Borthwick revealed that he met with Smith before England’s autumn campaign to offer support to the Harlequins No 10, who was first-choice fly-half 12 months ago before being moved to full-back and then to the role of super sub.After a patchy start to the season with Harlequins, Smith was absent from England’s 25-7 victory over Australia last weekend but with Freddie Steward nursing a hand injury, he comes back into the side at full-back while Fin Smith replaces George Ford at fly-half.In total, Borthwick has made seven personnel changes with Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Alex Coles, Ollie Lawrence and Chandler Cunningham-South starting against Fiji, who were victorious on their most recent visit to Twickenham in 2023.Genge will captain the side from the start with Maro Itoje, who has been struggling with a lower leg injury, named on the bench for the first time since 2017
Ignore the howls around pay-per-mile, chancellor. We can’t afford not to tax electric cars
Bank of England opens door to December rate cut as it signals inflation has peaked
Google plans to put datacentres in space to meet demand for AI
LOL: is this the ultimate texting faux pas (and what should you use instead)?
WTA Finals tennis: Jessica Pegula beats Jasmine Paolini, Aryna Sabalenka v Coco Gauff – as it happened
Reece Walsh lives up to star billing to become toast of English rugby league