Parliament discusses raising the price of cigarettes
A pack of cigarettes in Luxembourg costs 5.5 euros. In Belgium, the same pack costs 7.5 euros, in Germany — 7.6 euros, and in France — 10.5 euros. Therefore, the CSV (Christian Socialist) party proposed to increase the price of a pack by at least one euro. The price tag will remain low relative to its neighbors, and the state will receive more money.
Now excises and VAT on tobacco products bring Luxembourg about a billion euros a year. For comparison, the Luxembourg stock market brings the country about the same amount of money in taxes.
Another reason to raise the price is the fight against smuggling. The greater the difference in the price of cigarettes between Luxembourg and neighboring countries, the greater the temptation to illegally export cigarettes abroad and resell them.
The Cancer Foundation also proposed raising tobacco prices to encourage citizens to smoke less. It appears that Luxembourgers will smoke about 11% more cigarette packs in 2022 than in 2021. However, there are no final statistics yet.
Parties other than CSV support the increase or at least do not object to it. The exception is ADR, the alternative Democratic Reform Party. The head of the party, Fernand Kartheiser, believes that cigarettes already bring enough taxes. As for health, if people are not convinced by warning labels and pictures on packs, then health is not a priority for them. Kartheiser also argued that cheap cigarettes attract tourists.
