Cape Town - The Tobacco Institute of SA (Tisa) on Wednesday gave Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene a pat on the back for maintaining the 52% tax on tobacco products.
"While taxes on tobacco products remain an extremely valuable source of income for governments all over the world, as taxes rise and products become more expensive, illegal operators and organised crime syndicates are the immediate beneficiaries, as they do not pay taxes," Tisa CEO Francois van der Merwe said in a statement.
"Illegal operators are thereby able to sell tobacco products at very low prices in comparison to legal products, which in turn stimulates consumption."
Nene announced in his 2015/16 budget that the excise duty on a pack of 20 cigarettes would increase by 82 cents.