As new tobacco outlets multiply across western NSW, both legitimate local retailers and government agencies are grappling with the double-edged sword of targeted taxes. 

NSW Premier Chris Minns is talking tough, calling upon the federal government to reassess the tobacco excise. 

Tobacco excise has increased by an additional 5 per cent every year since September 2023.  

In March 2025, the excise stands at $1.40 per stick, compared to just 47 cents ten years earlier in 2015.  

Minns said the increase is pushing more and more people into buying illegal tobacco.   

"This will be the only tax in the history of the world that has doubled and revenue has declined by 33 per cent," said Minns.  

"Where is all that money going … into the illegal tobacco sector." 

Currently responsibility for controlling illegal tobacco sales falls upon NSW Health, but Minns has talked about the possibility of shifting it to NSW police. 

There was a significant fear factor within the western plains community when discussing this issue.  

One local IGA owner says the illegal tobacco trade is under-cutting legitimate businesses and the government is doing little to stop it.  

"The whole town knows [where illegal tobacco is being sold], but the government is not doing anything."   

However, he doesn't agree that a decrease in the tobacco excise would reduce illegal shipments. Instead he believes the Government needs to take greater action.   

"An excise is far-fetched at this moment," he said. 

"The Government needs to show they are serious about it, because it's not one container that's coming in, it's shiploads."  

Another Western Plains business owner, who also wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said the punishment for selling illegal tobacco wasn't harsh enough.  

"The only way they're going to fix it is fine them properly when they bust them.  

"A $50,000 fine, not a $500 fine. Otherwise they open 10 minutes later with another lot of stock."  

He also doesn't believe that a reduction in tax would help undercut the illegal tobacco trade either.  

"They sell their cigarettes for $10 or $12 a pack. We pay $28 tax. Even if they take a few dollars away, they're still way cheaper than us.  

"Unless they're going to take it [tobacco excise] away totally, so that we're on the same playing field, it's not going to make one iota of difference."   

Despite the public pressure, Treasurer Jim Chalmers ruled out the possibility of reducing the tobacco excise.  

A state government parliamentary Inquiry into the Illegal Tobacco Trade chaired by the Honourable Robert Borsak MLC is currently underway.  

Members of the public are invited to make submissions into the inquiry open until Friday 1 August.