ZCZC
BSS-24
ANTI-TOBACCO-TAX
Increasing tax on tobacco demanded
DHAKA, June 23, 2018 (BSS)-Anti-tobacco campaigners have demanded that the government should increase the tax on tobacco products in the proposed national budget for the fiscal 2018-19.
Addressing a press briefing here today, they also urged the government to restructure the four-level price slab for cigarettes into two levels saying that the existing four-level price slab helps multinational tobacco companies expand their businesses.
The proposed tax structure for tobacco products is to protect tobacco businesses, co-convenor of Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) Nadira Kiron said at press briefing organised by several anti-tobacco organisations at Jatiya Press Club here.
By keeping the value slabs of cigarettes at four levels, the price and tax of high-priced cigarettes unchanged for three consecutive fiscal years, the government is facilitating the business expansion of the multinational tobacco companies, she alleged.
The anti-tobacco platforms including Progga, Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA), National Heart Foundation (NHF), Dhaka Ahsania Mission, National Anti-Tobacco Platform, Tamak Birodhi Nari Jote, Association for Community Development (ACD) and Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) jointly organized the press briefing.
NHF founder chairman National Professor Brigadier (retd) Abdul Malik chaired the briefing while chairman of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Prof Dr Rumana Haque of Dhaka University and ATMA co-convener Nadira Kiron, among others, spoke at the press conference.
Kholiquzzaman said a large number of people smoke low-price cigar and urged the authorities concerned to fix the price of 10 sticks of low segment cigar at Taka 35. He also demanded reinstatement of export duty on refined tobacco.
They demanded fixing the price of 10 sticks of high segment cigarettes at minimum Taka 100 with a 65 percent supplementary duty.
They demanded elimination of filter and non-filter differentiation for Bidi and fixing the price of 30 sticks of cigar at minimum Taka 30 with a 45 percent supplementary duty and Taka 6 specific tax.
BSS/RI/TAN/MMA/1908hrs