ISLAMABAD - A hike in the prices of cigarette in the country will contribute to reducing smoking trends in adults, while additional taxes on the industry will add above Rs200 billion to the national exchequer, speakers said on Saturday.
SPARC organized a pre-budget session on tobacco tax here. The experts urged govt to increase taxes on tobacco industry and take measures to discourage smoking among adults. An activist from ‘Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Pakistan’ Malik Imran shared a proposal for tobacco tax reforms and recommend solutions to the government on short term, medium-term and long-term basis.
According to his calculations, it is predicted that the tax reform will generate significant additional total tax revenue of about Rs205.9 billion over 3 year, equivalent to an average annual increase in total tax revenue of about 51% (or about PKR 32.3 billion per year).
He also anticipated an increase in the excise tax share in the price from about 45.9% currently to 57.6%, somewhat closer to the 70% level recommended by the World Health Organization.