Solomon Islands Government Increases Tobacco Excise Duty By 20%

Source from:  Scoop.co.nz 05/09/2013

The Minister for Finance and Treasury, Hon. Rick Hou has announced that the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) has increased excise duty for Tobacco products by 20%.

This measure is part of the Government's commitment to ensure the proportion of excise on the retail prices of tobacco product is aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark for taxing tobacco products.

Minister Hou said that while the SIG needed to seek additional revenue, this measure is intended primarily to ensure that SIG meets the objectives of both the Public Health and Finances.

The implementation of this change will introduce an excise duty per stick of manufactured cigarette to $0.288. The excise duty per stick of imported cigarette; on the other hand, will be $1.56.

Minister Hou further stated that the Government considers that increasing excise by 20% will best meet the objectives of controlling tobacco usage and public finance.

Raising the price of tobacco through increasing excise tax has proven a very effective approach worldwide in controlling tobacco use and discourages young populations from taking up tobacco use.

This is appropriate given the health costs that tobacco consumption imposes on Solomon Islands in the medium and long run. Enditem