Bid to reduce high taxes on tobacco (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Bid to reduce high taxes on tobacco
by Desmond McCartan 
Source: Belfast Telegraph, Thursday, 10/28/99

THE Government has been warned that up to 11,560 tobacco industry and
linked jobs are at risk from a black market caused by high taxes.

Newsagents, shopkeepers, workers and small businesses lobbied Parliament
in a bid to persuade MPs to press the Government to cut the UK tobacco tax
in the next Budget.

Three separate groups were involved in the lobby the Tobacco Alliance
representing 26,000 independent UK retailers, the National Association of
Cigarette Machine Operators representing vending outlets and the Tobacco
Workers' Alliance.

They denied that their warnings about jobs, including those in Northern
Ireland, amount to "scare- mongering".

Earlier this month, Treasury Minister Dawn Primarolo disclosed that the
revenue lost from smuggling is now аг1.7bn, but campaigners say the true
figure is nearer аг3bn.

In a statement, they said a solution was clear a cut in tobacco tax would
remove the economic incentive to smuggle tobacco products and start to
reduce the size of the black market.