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Taiwan Proposes Tobacco Tax Hikes
by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong
14 May 2013
The Government has approved legislation, which will now require
parliamentary approval, to raise the tobacco tax and the Health and
Welfare Surcharge in Taiwan, thereby hiking the TWD70 (USD2.35) current
average price of a pack of cigarettes by TWD25.
The amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act would increase the
present TWD1,000 Surcharge imposed on every 1,000 cigarettes to TWD2,000
(or TWD40 on each pack), while the tobacco tax on each pack would reach
TWD16.8, a rise of TWD5.
The Department of Health has confirmed that the tax increases are part of
government measures to fund health services and raise health standards in
Taiwan, and it has forecast that smoking in the country will fall by some
20 percent as a result of the measures.
The Department also said that the level of taxation on cigarettes, and
their price, will still remain relatively low by international standards,
and that, with the predicted fall in cigarette smoking, the Government
was likely to see a net fall in revenue of up to TWD585m.