OTTAWA — Cash-strapped governments are losing billions in revenue because almost half of all cigarettes in Canada are now sold on the black market, a new report by the accounting firm EY Canada has found.
The report, to be released Monday, found that Ottawa, British Columbia and Ontario have already lost between $1.7-billion and $2.75-billion in taxes from illegal cigarette sales over the last three years, a period of strong growth in the contraband tobacco market.
