Ireland: Rush for Tobacco Gives Taxman a Boost

Source from:  The Times 07/05/2016

The introduction of compulsory plain packaging for cigarettes next year helped to swell the exchequer's coffers by forcing importers to stock up on branded tobacco.

The exchequer deficit for the first half of this year improved by €1.3 billion on the same period in 2015, the Department of Finance said yesterday. It attributed the improvement to higher tax revenues.

Increased car sales and tobacco receipts helped to drive excise duties €63 million above the department's projections for last month. Excise duties were €719 million, or 29.2 per cent, higher than in the first half of last year. Enditem