Low taxes on tobacco products give green light to Ukraine’s smugglers
With cigarettes being so cheap in Ukraine, there’s a wide margin for smugglers to make a good profit. Moreover, the low cost of smoking takes a toll on the nation’s health, with high rates of smoking-related diseases and deaths.
Yet parliament is in no hurry to increase taxes on tobacco. In defiance of calls by anti-smoking activists to raise tobacco taxes to combat smuggling and improve the nation’s health, the Rada’s tax and customs committee has been protecting the interests of the tobacco industry, as well as blocking laws to restrict cigarette advertising.
Add to that the rapid fall in the value of the hryvnia, the currency having lost two-thirds of its value over the last two years, the illicit cross-border trade in cigarettes has continued apace. In 2016, even high-level diplomats have been caught illegally transporting cigarettes to Hungary.
Related Posts
Sub-inspectors suspended for smuggling seized liquor.
Two sub-inspectors were suspended on Thursday for their alleged involvement in...
Schaeffler destroys 26 tons of counterfeit rolling bearings
Rolling bearings of various types and sizes are conveyed by the gripper arm of an...
Police bust cigarette smuggling ring
Customs officials in the city of Graz have arrested five cigarette smugglers...
Two taiwanese nationals held for smuggling gold bars
The Air Intelligence Unit on late Friday night booked two Taiwanese nationals...