Swedish government budget proposal includes another tax on SNUS..

September 17, 2007 - Swedish government budget proposal includes another tax on SNUS.. - Swedish Match closed down 4.94 pct at 130, on the back of news of a second round of moist snuff tax hikes, due to be announced in the government's Autumn budget. Mikael Holm, Swedish Match analyst at Swedbank, said the government's tax hikes are clearly part of a health-driven campaign and as such can be expected to continue. 'They hiked taxes on snus by 100 pct in last year's Autumn budget and now by another 50 pct this year. It's clear that the government intends to be very aggressive in order to bring consumption down,' Mikael Holm, Swedish Match analyst at Swedbank said, 'So we have to ask 'what will happen next year? (Stockholm shares close lower, but OMX up on M&A speculation - UPDATE, cnnmoney.com) STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Swedish Government budget proposal, to be presented on September 20, 2007, is expected to include a new tax increase on tobacco products including snus, which is proposed to be SEK 2,70 for 24 g (pouch) and SEK 5,63 for 50 g (loose). The numbers include VAT and the increase is expected to be effective as of January 1, 2008. In the light of the recent tax increase in January 2007, where the tax increased by SEK 3,69 for 24 g and SEK 7,69 for 50 g snus, including VAT, the new tax proposal was unexpected. (Yahoo Finance) As Dr. Gunilla Bolinder, director of education at Stockholm's Karolinska University Hospital points out, "To sing the praises of SNUS is a deathblow to 20 years of hard tobacco preventive work. SNUS only saves the life of the tobacco industry." (SNUS gets the thumbs-down NEWS-24 1/31/2007)