OVERVIEW OF FOUR PROPOSALS FROM ASH IRELAND
1. INCREASE IN TOBACCO PRICE
ASH Ireland, with the support of the entire health sector urges Minister Noonan to put an additional 50 cents on the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes and to increase tax on ‘roll your own tobacco’ to a level which brings this taxation in line with tax on other tobacco products. This to be considered in the context of the 2016 Budget Statement.
2. REMOVAL OF VAT ON NICOTINE REPLACEMENT PATCHES
Each year Irish smokers who are endeavouring to quit pay several €Million on VAT which applies to nicotine replacement patches. ASH Ireland requests that VAT be removed from this product.
3. 50-CENTS LITTER LEVY ON TOBACCO PACK
In 2010 ASH Ireland first made a submission to the Government proposing that a 50 cents levy be placed on the Tobacco Industry for each pack of cigarettes sold in this jurisdiction. In April 2011 we also raised this issue with Minister Reilly. We now encourage Minister Noonan to proceed with this levy which can provide an additional €100 Million per annum in justifiable taxes for the Government. Tobacco waste is our biggest urban waste issue and this was recently confirmed by research published by the Department of the Environment (National Litter Pollution Monitoring System – System Results 2014).
4. FURTHER INVESTMENT AGAINST SMUGGLING
In accordance with documentation produced by our Revenue Commissioners, roughly 11% of cigarettes smoked in this jurisdiction are illegal and this costs the exchequer some €210 Million per annum. ASH Ireland proposes that an additional €5 Million be invested annually over the next five years in the fight against tobacco smuggling, commencing in 2015. Smuggling is a criminal issue which must be tackled as such. The smuggling issue is also being used by the Tobacco Industry, in its endeavours to block the standardised packaging legislation. This same industry has been found to be complicit in smuggling in three separate jurisdictions.
ASH Ireland 