IMPORTED TOBACCO

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 August 1946, Page 6

IMPORTED TOBACCO

£20,000 TO BE PAID IN SUBSIDIES “MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS” A typical example of the misuse of public funds was the description which members of the Chamber of Commerce gave to the subsidising of imported tobacco supplies in New Zealand, when at last evening’s meeting, a letter was received from the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Mr. Sullivan, stating that the total tobacco subsidy cost for 1946 was estimated not to exceed £20,000.

The chamber recently wrote to the Associated Chambers of Commerce, claiming that public funds were being misused to pay a subsidy “on any tobacco which would otherwise retail at prices in excess of 3/9 for two ounces after the normal markup,” and asked for particulars of the amount involved in the subsidy. The Associated Chambers subsequently approached the Minister and the Greymouth Chamber has now been advised that the sum of £20,000 is likely to be spent in this manner. The Minister’s letter went on to say that tobacco was a cost-of-living item which came under the war-time cost-of-living index, and that the subsidy was paid to the importers on a basis that would permit the imported tobacco to be sold to the consuming public at a price not exceeding 3/9 per two-ounce tin.