Levy on tobacco industry would put UK’s public services at risk
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Version 0 of 1. Sarah Boseley’s article (Call for levy on tobacco industry, 10 June) fails to provide any balance, as indeed does the report that she comments on. The idea of a levy on the tobacco industry would be counterproductive, would cost taxpayers tens of millions that could have been spent on vital public services, and would lead to more, not less, illegal tobacco in the UK that would be more readily available to children. 80% of the cost of tobacco in the UK is tax, the highest of any European country. Simply imposing another tax would push up prices and push more smokers into the black market, losing the exchequer tens of millions over the course of the next parliament. The government already loses £2bn a year from tobacco tax avoidance – enough to pay for five new state of the art hospitals or 90,000 new nurses each year. Government action therefore needs to focus around reducing this loss. Also, let’s be clear that the UK tobacco industry has never shied away from paying its fair share. The industry contributes over £12bn or 2% of all taxes annually collected in the UK – enough, for example, to pay for half a million teachers each year. These ideas are uncosted, un-evidenced and would have hugely damaging consequences for taxpayers and for the funding of future public services.Giles RocaDirector general, Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association |