Press Release: Tobacco taxation: Commission proposes increasing excise duties

On 16 July, 2008, the European Commission presented a Report and a proposal for a Directive to amend the current EU excise duty legislation on tobacco. The draft Directive predicted a gradual increase in the EU minimum taxation levels on cigarettes and fine cut tobacco up to 2014. It also updated the definitions of different types of tobacco products so as to remove loopholes which allow certain cigarettes or fine cut tobacco to be presented as cigars, cigarillos or pipe tobacco thereby benefiting from a lower tax rate. Today's proposal will narrow differences between Member States' tobacco taxation levels and so help tackle intra-EU tobacco smuggling. It also made the taxation rules more transparent, thereby creating a level playing field for manufacturers and giving flexibility to Member States to set minimum taxes. It also aimed to contribute to reducing tobacco consumption by 10% within the next 5 years.

European Commission: MEMO/08/Excise duty on tobacco products: frequently asked questions http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/506&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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