Parliament asked to remove tax exemptions on tobacco
Nov 25, 2019
The legislature has also been implored to increase all tobacco product taxes beyond 70% in conformity with the World Health Organization Tobacco tax fiscal standards.
Parliament has been asked to amend section 2 of the Excise duty Act of 2019, by removing any forms of tax exemptions and incentives, in conformity with section 23 of the Tobacco Control Act of 2015.
The legislature has also been implored to increase all tobacco product taxes beyond 70% in conformity with the World Health Organization Tobacco tax fiscal standards.
In their petition to the speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, the Anti-Tobacco activists want Parliament to earmark the annually increased Tobacco tax revenues, to finance Non-communicable disease.
"Increase the Budget allocations finance, programs and cancer, health and lung institute," Robinah Kaitiritimba, the Executive Director Uganda National Health Consumers Organization (UNHCO) said.
The 2017, center for Tobacco Control Africa, found that the annual average medical cost of current or former smokers suffering from a tobacco attributable disease is sh3.6m.
Statistics show that the total health cost of tobacco use including the direct cost of treatment and the indirect costs of loss of income and productivity from death and disability in Uganda is Sh328.82b.
In their petition to Parliament, the Anti-Tobacco crusaders noted that the 2019 Excise duty Amendment, just defines an East African Citizen.
"This translates to buy East Africa, Build East Africa. Tobacco kills all whether made from Uganda, East Africa and Africa or in any other continent.
Citing the 2015 Addis Ababa Agenda on financing, of development, governments, the activists said governments including Uganda, are advised to impose stringent taxes on Tobacco products and earmarking the same on non-communicable diseases.
Kaitiritimba said; "We implore government to act now and stop cheap cigarettes on our markets. Tobacco taxation offers an opportunity to increase revenue generation while reducing tobacco use and its related morbidity and mortality".
According to the Uganda National Health Consumers Organization, cigarette taxes have not increased since 2014 Excise duty Act.
In 2017, the amendment sought to protect Ugandan cigarette manufactures under the Buy Uganda, Build Uganda (BUBU) arrangement.