TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO BE LEVIED HIGHER EXCISE DUTY IN BULGARIA IN 2008

Source from:  sofiaecho.com Tue 30 Oct 2007 11/01/2007

Excise duty on cigarettes and other tobacco products would go up by 33 per cent in 2008, while taxes on fuels will see a 10 per cent increase, the draft budget for next year, discussed by representatives of the Government, trade unions and employers on October 29 showed, as quoted by mediapool.bg. The so-called National Council for Tripartite Co-operation discusses the budget each year before the draft makes it to parliament for political approval. The excise duty hike on tobacco products was not a surprise but was in accordance with an earlier endorsed policy for a gradual increase of 33 per cent every year by 2010, when the levy should reach 64 euro for 1000 pieces of cigarettes. Currently, it was 31 euro, mediapool.bg said. The excise duty levied on unleaded petrol would grow by about eight per cent from 635 leva a ton to 685 leva a ton. For gas the increase would be by 12 per cent, from 535 leva a ton to 600 leva a ton, and for kerosene it would be by about six per cent, from 485 leva ton to 535 leva ton. On the excise tariff's decrease side would be the biofuel added mixtures. The mix of petrol and 2-5 per cent bioethanol would be levied 671.30 leva a ton, which was 0.02 per cent less than the 685 leva for the petrol. The mixes of diesel and 2-5 per cent biodiesel would be levied 588 leva a ton, also 0.02 per cent less than the diesel itself at 600 leva a ton. Excise duty on coke and coal would go up by more than 33 per cent from the current 0.30 leva to 0.40 leva for a gigaJaul of thermo productivity. Household electricity would again remain non-levied with excise duty but the power for businesses and administrative buildings would be levied 1.20 leva for a megawatt-hour, which was 20 per cent more than the current one lev for a megawatt-hour. Coffee and coffee extracts would be left without excise duty for another year. The current levels of excise duty on beer and alcoholic drinks would remain unchanged, despite some proposals to hike them, mediapool.bg said. Enditem