Ciggie tax needs careNext week, the cabinet will decide on a new excise tax structure for cigarettes that will be implemented from Oct 1. Under the current rate, a 20% tax rate is applied to the retail price for packs costing up to 60 baht, and 40% for more expensive retail packs. Indeed, a flat tax rate of 40% was scheduled to be applied in October 2019. The Finance Ministry previously requested the cabinet extend the two-tier tobacco tax rate to the end of September 2020. While several countries use tax measures to reduce cigarette smoking, local tax has played far too many roles and has hardly accomplished anything.

Source: Bangkok Post September 22, 2021 23:15 UTC