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Cigarette excise hike set for 2022
The hike is expected to raise state revenue and reduce smoking, especially among children.
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A tobacco seller in Parakan, Central Java, smokes a "kretek" (unfiltered) cigarette in his warehouse. (JP/Dottie Bond)
T
he Finance Ministry is set to raise cigarette excises by up to 12 percent next year to increase state revenue and bring down smoking, especially among children.
The ministry said on Monday it would raise excises by an average of 12 percent in 2022 from this year for machine-made clove cigarettes (SKM) and white cigarettes (SPM).
For hand-rolled cigarettes (SKT), which are produced through labor-intensive processes, the government will cap the hike at 4.5 percent.
“Excise tax is an instrument to control [consumption] in line with the excise tax law,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in a press briefing on Monday.
The government has been raising tobacco excises every year since 2014 as part of its efforts to reduce smoking among children and teens between 10 and 18 years old to 8.7 percent by 2024. The excise was raised 12.5 percent this year.
Read also: Jakarta moves to take down cigarette ads in latest tobacco control campaign
The latest increase is expected to bring down smoking prevalence to 8.83 percent in 2022 from an estimated 9 percent this year, according to Sri Mulyani.
