Malaysia - BAT wants gradual, moderate increases in the cigarette tax..

Tak nak = Don'tr Want..
September 15, 2010 - British American Tobacco (M) Bhd (BAT) hopes the government will continue to reflect a balanced, moderate and gradual excise increase regime in the upcoming Budget 2011. BAT with a 60 per cent market share has nine billion cigarettes consumption volume per annum with 60 percent to 70 percent utilised production capacity, currently. (Malaysia - illicit cigarettes, BAT wants government to slow excise duty increases..)

In August, the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board announced that cigarette manufacturers will be taxed half-a-sen for every stick sold as cess tax, beginning Sept 1.

Illicit (illegal, contraband, black market, smuggling) cigarettes in Malaysia have increased to 37.5 percent from 14.4 percent in 2004, and very likely would continue to increase due to further tax-led wide price gap increased between legal and illegal cigarettes, he said. The government is said to incur a loss of RM2 billion each year from unpaid duties on illicit cigarettes.
(Malaysia - one out of three packets of cigarettes was smuggled.)

"And increase in prices does not reduce cigarette consumption, but provides more room for illicit activities to take place," BAT Managing Director, William Toh said.

We all await the World Health Organization's (WHO) solution to the problem of tobacco product smuggling faced by countries throughout the world.. You can not have an effective tobacco control program until the flow of illicit cigarettes can be controlled.

Citing Singapore, he said due to high level of illicit trade the Singapore government did not increase excise rate for the last five years. This resulted into revenue growth by an average of eight percent per annum between 2006 and 2008, due to reduction in illicit trade.

"Hong Kong government is another example. It did not increase excise for seven years until last year when excise was increased by 50 per cent and illicit trade grew by 127 per cent. "So, basically, price increase provides more avenue for higher illicit trading which damages the industry," he reiterated.

Reference: BAT Hopes For Moderate Tax Regime In Budget 2011, Bernama.com, 9/8/2010.

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Malaysia - 25% of all cigarettes sales are illegal...Peninsular Malaysia - one of three cigarette packs is either contraband or fake..;
Komtar, Penang, Malaysia smoking ban strictly enforced..;
Malaysia student forced to smoke 40 cigarettes in two hours..
Malaysia - PSD and Cuepacs are at odds over the no-smoking rule at government de­­partments and agencies..;
Malaysia: Are tobacco control measures working? - WHO thinks so...;
Malaysia - slowdown in cigarette consumption..;
Malaysia - January 1, 2009 pictorial cigarette warnings..;
Malaysia to hike cigarette prices..;
Malaysia - 25% of all cigarettes sales are illegal...