Lawmakers urge to impose effective tax on cigarettes in budget

To realise the goal of making 'Tobacco-free Bangladesh' by 2040, the availability of cigarettes in the country should be reduced.

Keeping in mind inflation and income growth, they called for an increase in retail prices of low, medium, high and premium cigarettes by 33 per cent, 19 per cent, 15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively in the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year budget.

They made this call at the national dialogue organised at Biam Auditorium in Dhaka on Thursday (May 2).

Former Planning Minister MA Mannan was present as the chief guest at the national dialogue organised by private research organization Unmnayan Samannay. A total of six MPs were present in the dialogue.

Former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman delivered the welcome speech at the dialogue.

Prominent economist Dr SM Zulfikar Ali, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) teacher Dr Nazmul Islam and BEETC Forum member Professor Ghulam Ahmed Faruqi were present as expert discussants at the dialogue.

Abdullah Nadvi, director of Research of Unnayan Samannay outlined the recommendations for implementation of effective taxes on cigarettes on behalf of anti-tobacco organisations.

MA Mannan said the consensus among our members of parliament regarding the implementation of effective taxes on cigarettes will play a positive role in this year's budget discussion.

Speakers at the dialogue said to discourage low-income people and teenagers from smoking, it is necessary to increase the retail price of cigarettes through imposing higher taxes in this budget and it is necessary to create an incentive mechanism for the government to discourage its cultivation at the upazila level. To achieve the national development goals, ensuring the health protection of the citizens is very important, and for that, it is recommended to have appropriate initiatives in the budget to reduce cigarette consumption.

The speakers also said that besides increasing the price of cigarettes by 200 to 300 percent, the Tobacco Control Act needs to be strengthened.

Lawmaker Md Abdur Rashid said that more attention regarding policy making should be given to the public health damage caused by cigarettes than the amount of tax coming from the sale of cigarettes.

Dr Atiur Rahman said, “Imposing effective tax on cigarettes is the most effective way to reduce the use of this harmful product. That is why the country's anti-tobacco organisations have taken a stand for the imposing of effective tax on cigarettes.”

“However, the recommendations for effective tax implementations have been prepared keeping in mind that the government's revenue income should not be under pressure even if the use of cigarettes is reduced. If these recommendations are implemented, on one hand the rate of cigarette consumption will decrease by 9 percent, and on the other hand, the amount of tax from the sale of cigarettes will increase by 28 percent,” he said.

Dr Zulfikar Ali said if the anti-tobacco movement is to be successful, emphasis must be placed on implementation of effective taxes on cigarettes.