Cigarette and alcohol pricing inquiry: Does anyone have insights into the tax breakdown?
I don’t smoke and I only drink occasionally, but after returning from Japan, where convenience stores sell cigarettes for around $5 a pack and cans of beer, gin, or hard lemonade (9%) are about $1.80 each, I’m curious. I found 700ml bottles of Suntory whiskey for as low as $10, and some stores even offered 4 to 5-liter bottles for about $38.
What are the excise duties and taxes on these products in Australia? How much of the higher prices here can be attributed to company markups?
In Australia, the price of cigarettes and alcohol is significantly affected by high taxes and excise duties imposed by the government. Here’s a breakdown of the main factors:
Cigarettes:
Alcohol:
Conclusion:
To summarize, while the prices of cigarettes and alcohol in Australia are high, a substantial portion of that expense comes from government taxes and excise duties. This leads to retail prices that are much higher than you might find in countries like Japan, where these taxes are considerably lower. Companies also have their own pricing strategies, but the heavy taxation is the primary factor in the high costs.