From The Daily Mail:
"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for smoking..." said [Australian Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm], "Your generosity to the nation's treasury is truly staggering."
"The government collects around $8 billion in tobacco excise each year. That's a lot of cash. Last year, smokers imposed $318.4 million in net costs on Australia's healthcare system. Depending on rainfall, smokers also cost the taxpayer about $150 million a year in bushfire control.
"If you do even basic arithmetic, these figures disclose that you wonderful, generous smokers, pay 17 times as much as you cost."
He argued that the true intention of smoking taxes was for the government to raise money, not to help people improve their health.
Mr Leyonhjelm, we salute you!
Thinking ahead
3 hours ago
4 comments:
Finally some honesty in politics! :)
"'This is a case of ideology before reality,', said Dr Steve Parnis, Vice President of the Australian Medical Association"
Splutter! This from an advocate of minimum alcohol pricing, plain packaging, sugar taxes etc?
Ah, the smell of tobacco embedded in the walls, it reminds me of childhood.
DP, I couldn't even be bothered to read all the Dr this and the other. Could you?
M, so you rebelled by staying clean? Cool!
Kj, that's the smoke, not the tobacco :-)
Dear Mr Wadsworth
At last a Liberal Democrat politician (sadly not a British one) who lives up to the first part of the political creed. Don't know what his democratic credentials are, but he's at least half way there.
Perhaps our LibDims could learn from him ... on second thoughts after a recent by-election won by said LimpDims one of the jubilant multitude in the village hall said 'clear off UKIP, bye bye' as the UKIP party left. After turning a large Con majority into a large DimLib majority it took minutes for members of the slightly more powerful party to turn to abuse.
So, no chance there then ...
DP
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