Excise taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products should be reduced to combat the shadow market, said Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, deputy of the United Russia faction Artyom Kiryanov. He stated this in the new edition of the program "A legitimate question. Podcast".
"In tobacco alone, we receive less than 100 billion net dollars a year due to smuggling and counterfeiting. If we also take certain things related to production, to the legal sector, then, accordingly. In total, 150 billion. The problem is that we do not have harmonization of excise policy with our neighbors. That is, we are talking about the need to harmonize [legislation] The EAEU, the Customs Union. But at the same time, our excise taxes are much higher. We have a gap of 40% for the same tobacco excise taxes," the parliamentarian said.
He explained that these are hundreds of billions that remain in the shadow economy and are distributed there.
"If we reduced the excise tax now and brought it in line with our neighbors, our illegal turnover would be reduced to almost zero. According to official data that we have, about 12% of the illegal cigarette turnover is now," Kiryanov added.
The deputy also expressed the opinion that the sharp increase in excise taxes was an ill-considered decision.
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