BAT Warns of US$20 Billion Treasury Losses

Source from:  tobaccoreporter.com Oct 20, 2008 10/21/2008

British American Tobacco has issued a warning that governments world-wide, many increasingly indebted due to the global financial crisis, will this year 'lose' about US$20 billion in unpaid tobacco taxes at the hands of smugglers and counterfeiters. And the company believes that a new World Health Organization (WHO) protocol to tackle the illicit tobacco trade, which is due to be discussed this week in Geneva, needs strengthening in key areas if it is to help governments. The predicted tax losses are based on BAT's latest estimate that smokers globally will consume more than 335 billion illicit cigarettes this year – a record high. BAT, in a note posted on its website, said that it firmly supported the WHO's draft Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, which aims to strengthen international co-ordination and enforcement but also acknowledges that legitimate tobacco industry interests are negatively impacted along with those of governments. In its note, the company lists a number of suggestions to fight smuggling and counterfeit. Enditem