Jump to full article: Vancouver (BC) Province, 2001-12-06
Author: Barbara McLintock / The Province
Intro: Tightened border security has had one unanticipated benefit for the B.C. government.
That, said Provincial Revenue Minister Bill Barisoff yesterday, is an apparent decrease in tobacco smuggling.
Barisoff told an open cabinet meeting that it appears the B.C. treasury has been losing about $200 million a year to illegal tobacco smuggling -- bringing tobacco into the province without paying provincial taxes.
But since the border tightened up after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, "we've been seeing more revenue coming in," he said.
It's too early to say just how much of the smuggling has been stopped by the closer checks at the border.
Much of the rest of the smuggling comes from eastern Canada where provincial taxes are lower, Barisoff noted.
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