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Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


The billion-dollar tax dodge on tobacco

Sunday, March 3, 2013

According to numbers acquired through a Canadian Taxpayer's Federation (CTF) Freedom of Information request to the federal government, Status Indians in Ontario purchased the equivalent of 70 cigarettes daily per person last year, along with 1,000 cigars annually. The fact that they don't smoke that much points towards a tax dodge by non-status buyers of between $742 million and $1.2 billion, just from contraband cigarettes in Ontario.

The CTF estimates that up to 79 per cent of all tax-free cigarettes intended for legal sale to Status Indians are illegally sold to those who are not, dodging $5.24 a pack in taxes.

Fred Neukamm, chair of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Marketing Board, allows that the contraband cigarettes may have been grown outside of the system. This year's legal crop is likely to be up somewhat from slightly more than 50 million pounds in 2012 because of increased demand from China. BF

Current Issue

November 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

CGC issues multiple licences in early November

Friday, November 14, 2025

The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) has been busy in the first week of November. The CGC issued four licences on Nov. 1 with three going to companies in Saskatchewan. Eskdale Seed Farm in Leross received a primary elevator licence. This type of licence goes to “an operator of an... Read this article online

Top Ontario Farms Win 2025 Excellence Awards

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

The Ontario government celebrated the 2025 Excellence in Agriculture Awards, recognizing 12 outstanding winners and seven honourable mentions whose work strengthens the province’s $51 billion agri-food industry. These awards highlight leadership, innovation, and sustainability across... Read this article online

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