1. INCREASE IN TOBACCO PRICE
ASH Ireland, with the support of the entire health sector urges Minister Noonan to put an additional 62 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 2014 Budget Statement.
2. REMOVAL/REDUCTION 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 or reduced on this product. We are in the process of establishing the level of sales of nicotine replacement patches with both Revenue and the manufacturers, and we will pass this figure to you as soon as it becomes available.
3. 50-CENTS LITTER LEVY ON TOBACCO PACKS
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 which can be found on http://www.environ.ie/en/PublicationsDocuments/FileDownLoad,33554,en.pdf.
4. FURTHER INVESTMENT AGAINST SMUGGLING
In accordance with documentation produced by our Revenue Commissioners, roughly 15% of cigarettes smoked in this jurisdiction are illegal and this costs the exchequer some €278 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 2014. Smuggling is a criminal issue which must be tackled as such. The smuggling issue is also being used by the Tobacco Industry, who themselves have been found to be complicit in smuggling in three separate jurisdictions, to fight health initiatives such as the introduction of plain packaging.
ASH Ireland 