The federal government is unsure about the scope of tobacco smuggling in Canada, according to records tabled to the House of Commons.
“The excise reporting gap was estimated to be on average $400 million of federal excise revenue for the tax years 2014 to 2018,” said an Inquiry of Ministry document tabled to Parliament on May 31.
As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the $400 million amount included tax revenue lost to contraband of all kinds. No breakdown was provided.
The figures were disclosed via an inquiry submitted by Conservative MP Philip Lawrence who asked for the amount of tobacco tax revenues lost through illegal trades….