Overseas travellers are forking out up to $100 in tax at the airport when they return home so they can hang on to their bulk purchased cigarettes after the government slashed the number of duty free smokes they can bring in.
From September 1 the number of duty free cigarettes travellers can bring into Australia after an overseas trip was slashed from 250 to just 50.
Customs has told News Limited most smokers caught unaware by the new limit have opted to pay the extra duty so they can bring the cigarettes into the country.
“If you bring in more than the limit you can keep 50 cigarettes and surrender the rest, or you can opt to pay the duty on the whole amount,” a spokewoman said.
Customs says those cigarettes surrendered at the airport have been shredded at a secure facility under the supervision of customs officers.
Treasury research shows the new duty free restrictions are more likely to affect wealthy smokers because they are the ones who can afford to travel.
Only around one in 14 smoking households earning less $24,000 a year travel overseas – this compares to one in two smoking households in the top 20 per cent.
The government is spending $11.7 million over the next two years on brochures and advertising about the new measures and has hired extra customs staff at international airports to implement the changes to the duty free allowance.
Treasurer Wayne Swan says it’s “simply not fair to continue to subsidise big tax breaks for cartons of cigarettes”.
“Large duty free allowances are outdated – we now know just how harmful tobacco is,” he said.
The anti-tobacco revenue raising measure was announced in the May budget and designed to raise the government $600 million over four years.