Economic Reporter :
The proposed tax on tobacco products in new budget would hardly yield any positive result in discouraging smoking and other uses of tobacco products during the next fiscal, anti-tobacco campaigners said here Sunday.
“Slab system of tax encourages companies and retailers to evade taxes. So, the proposed tax on cigarettes needs to be rethought and refixed,” said Professor Dr Rumana Haque of Dhaka University as the keynote speaker at a press conference held at the National Press Club here.
More than a dozens of organizations, which are active in anti-tobacco campaigns, organized the press conference to put forward their suggestions to the government for revisions after the finance minister proposed the national budget for 2016-17 fiscal early this month.
Dr Rumana pointed out that the lowest price of a 10-cigarette pack would likely to go up by 28 percent, while the price of two other classes of cigarettes would up only by a percent. As a result, she said, the price of the expensive cigarettes would not increase at all at the retailers’ level.
Other speakers suggested for withdrawing the slab system of tax imposition on tobacco products in the budget and urged the government to impose a flat 70 percent tax on all sorts of tobacco products produced and marketed locally.
The proposed tax on tobacco products in new budget would hardly yield any positive result in discouraging smoking and other uses of tobacco products during the next fiscal, anti-tobacco campaigners said here Sunday.
“Slab system of tax encourages companies and retailers to evade taxes. So, the proposed tax on cigarettes needs to be rethought and refixed,” said Professor Dr Rumana Haque of Dhaka University as the keynote speaker at a press conference held at the National Press Club here.
More than a dozens of organizations, which are active in anti-tobacco campaigns, organized the press conference to put forward their suggestions to the government for revisions after the finance minister proposed the national budget for 2016-17 fiscal early this month.
Dr Rumana pointed out that the lowest price of a 10-cigarette pack would likely to go up by 28 percent, while the price of two other classes of cigarettes would up only by a percent. As a result, she said, the price of the expensive cigarettes would not increase at all at the retailers’ level.
Other speakers suggested for withdrawing the slab system of tax imposition on tobacco products in the budget and urged the government to impose a flat 70 percent tax on all sorts of tobacco products produced and marketed locally.
