A speculation in vaping and tobacco industries comes that the South Korea government could rise taxes on e-cigarettes to increase tax revenue .
How does this happen ? In the plenary session at the National Assembly on April 17 , Bae Jun-young , a lawmaker from the governing People Power Party , asked the Economy and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho a question about government’s stance on vape taxes , stating that “ cig-a-like e-cigarettes contain harmful toxins like regular cigarettes . ”
“ I was aware that some officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare recommended that e-cigarettes be classified as tobacco products, like other regular cigarettes , ” said Choo , from which we can speculate that the Finance Minister hold the view that taxes on e-cigarettes should be adjusted to be equivalent to regular tobacco products if the two have the same level of harmful effects on human body.
This comment aroused fierce backlash from the sector and smokers . “Ten million tobacco users are deeply concerned about the chance of an increased tax on e-cigarettes, which will raise the prices of entire tobacco products,” released by a pro-smoking advocacy group on Wednesday in response to the possible tax rise on electronic product. “This is nothing but a ploy to use taxpayers as the source of funds to solve the lack of tax revenue.”
The Ministry of Economy and Finance said that “There is no consideration on raising tax on e-cigarettes.”
Cig-a-like e-cigarettes are currently taxed lower than regular nicotine delivery systems. For regular cigarettes priced at 4,500 won ($3.39) per pack, the government levies a tax of 3,323 won, including a special consumption tax of 594 won and excise tax. For e-cigarettes, however, the tax amounts to only 90 percent of the regular tax at 3,004 won.
material source:Pulse News
