Taxes on tobacco products

Abstract

Tobacco products pose serious environmental hazards, from environmental pollution to various diseases, including serious illnesses such as cancer. Tobacco products include various types of cigarettes, snuff, and chewing tobacco, in addition to traditional tobacco. Recently, electronic cigarettes have emerged, which are considered less harmful than their predecessors. Different countries have worked to reduce their dangers and combat them, even to the point of prohibition in some cases. Among the preventive mechanisms is the imposition of fees and taxes on these products to raise their prices, thereby discouraging consumer use and generating financial revenues to repair the damage caused by them. In Algeria, these fees consist of three main taxes: the internal consumption tax, the flat-rate tax on tobacco products, and the additional tax on tobacco products. The application of the consumption tax began with the start of the tax legislation within the TGP system, and with the onset of reforms, the other taxes were imposed. They are characterized by a noticeable increase in the rates and percentages applied, which has led to a rise in the prices of various tobacco products, which is the intended goal. However, on the other hand, we find that the revenues from these taxes are directed towards goals other than their true purpose, which is to repair the damage they caused, despite the state's efforts to address this issue. Recently, some of the revenues from these taxes have been directed to cancer control centers and therapeutic activities.