PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly passed the amended Finance Bill on Tuesday to withdraw the increase in tobacco tax announced in the provincial budget 2024-25, as reported by ARY News.
The provincial government presented the amended Finance Bill in the provincial assembly to decrease the tax ratio, which was then passed. Initially, the provincial government imposed a tax of up to Rs 50 per kilogram on tobacco.
With the amended Finance Bill, the tobacco tax has been decreased to Rs 25 per kilogram. The tax on white patta tobacco has also been decreased to Rs 15 per kilogram from Rs 30. The Pakhtunkhwa Assembly government also decided to maintain the existing tax of Rs 7.50 per kilogram on Naswar.
Earlier, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), along with other organizations, informed that Pakistan’s Finance Ministry has increased taxes on tobacco products, especially cigarettes. They proposed to raise tobacco taxation by at least 26% in the upcoming federal budget.
Pakistan is struggling with widespread tobacco consumption, with over 31.9 million adults aged 15 years and above identified as current tobacco users, making up nearly 19.7% of the adult population. Smoking-related illnesses lead to over 160,000 deaths annually, which accounts for a significant 1.6% of the nation’s GDP each year.
However, cigarette taxes covered only 16% of these expenses in the fiscal year 2022-23, marking a decline from 19.5% in 2019.
