MPs urge finance minister to reform tobacco tax
They seek an extra Tk11,000 crore by raising taxes on tobacco products to tackle the financial and healthcare challenges posed by the Covid-19 outbreak
Several Members of Parliament (MPs) have urged Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal to reform the tax structure of tobacco products.
They sought an extra Tk11,000 crore in the upcoming fiscal year through this reform to tackle the financial and healthcare challenges posed by the Covid-19 outbreak.
The MPs sent a budget reaction letter to the finance minister with a set of proposals to impose higher price and taxation on tobacco products in the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2020-2021.
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The lawmakers, including Chair of Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Muhammad Faruk Khan MP, Fazle Hossain Badsha MP, and Dr Md Habibe Millat MP proposed this demand.
They said that if the tax structure proposed by the health ministry is passed, the government would earn an extra Tk11,000 crore in the next fiscal year.
The MPs also proposed lowering the number of cigarette price slabs from four to two, said a press release issued by Dhaka Ahsania Mission on Sunday.
They also urged the finance minister to impose an extra 3 percent surcharge on every retail price of all tobacco products due to Covid-19 and impose a stricter prohibition on e-cigarettes.
