Living cost up

The New Zealand government’s annual 10 percent tax hike on cigarettes and tobacco has resulted in a higher cost of living for beneficiaries and Māori.

Stats NZ revealed the cost of living for beneficiaries rose 0.6 percent in the three months through March, and rose 0.4 percent for Māori. The national average increase in the cost of living for the same period was 0.1 percent. The government said the rise was primarily due to more expensive cigarettes and tobacco, which typically account for 4.1 percent of a beneficiary’s household spending, 4.8 percent of spending in a Māori household and 2.5 percent across all households.

“One cigarette cost about NZD1.50 ($ 0.99) in the March 2019 quarter, up from about NZD$0.54 cents a decade ago, partly a result of regular excise tax increases over the past 10 years,” said consumer prices manager Gael Price.