I move:
(1) THAT for the purposes of the tax charged by virtue of section 72 of the Finance Act 2005 (No. 5 of 2005), that Act be amended, with effect as on and from 9 October 2019, by substituting the following for Schedule 2 to that Act (as amended by section 34 of the Finance Act 2018 (No. 30 of 2018)):
“SCHEDULE 2
Rates of tobacco products tax
(With effect as on and from 9 October 2019)
Description of Product |
Rate of Tax |
Cigarettes |
Rate of tax at— (a) except where paragraph (b) applies, €346.04 per thousand together with an amount equal to 8.91 per cent of the price at which the cigarettes are sold by retail, or (b) €395.05 per thousand in respect of cigarettes sold by retail where the rate of tax would be less than that rate had the rate been calculated in accordance with paragraph (a). |
Cigars .... .... .... …. …. …. …. …. |
Rate of tax at €394.811 per kilogram. |
Fine-cut tobacco for the rolling of cigarettes .... |
Rate of tax at €379.831 per kilogram. |
Other smoking tobacco .... …. …. …. …. |
Rate of tax at €273.903 per kilogram. |
".
(2) IT is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1927 (No. 7 of 1927).
Financial Resolution No. 1 provides for excise duty increases on tobacco products, with effect from 12 midnight tonight. The increase amounts to 50 cent, inclusive of VAT, on a pack of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category, together with pro rata increases for other tobacco products. The price of a pack of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category, assuming the full increase is passed through to the final retail price, will increase to €13.50. The excise duty component of the price will be €8.12 and the total tax, inclusive of VAT, will be €10.64, which represents 79% of the price of a pack. The pro rata increase on the price of a typical pouch of roll-your-own tobacco will increase by 70 cent to €17.70.
Ireland is committed to a policy of high taxation on tobacco to encourage people to quit smoking, particularly younger people. I am pleased to say this policy is working. In 2007, a total of 24% of our people were daily smokers. By contrast, the Healthy Ireland survey figures for June 2018 show that the figure has fallen to 18%. There are now more people in Ireland who have quit smoking than who smoke. Increasing tobacco product taxation is a key public health policy measure to continue the downward trend in smoking rates in Ireland and to help us achieve our goal of having a tobacco free Ireland by 2025. In respect of revenue raising, the increase in tobacco product tax and the minimum excise duty is estimated to contribute €57.1 million in a full year.