Blog

July 26, 2018

Denmark adopts new tax category for heated tobacco

Denmark’s Ministry of Taxation has issued an Executive Order creating a new excise tax category for heated tobacco. The communiqué announced amendments to Order No. 186 of 26 February 2013 which contains the basic outline of tobacco taxation for the Nordic country. Read Article

July 6, 2018

U.K. Government proposes new tax category for heated tobacco

The U.K. Government has issued a draft proposal to create a new excise tax category for heated tobacco. The proposed addition to the Tobacco Products Duty Act (TPDA) 1979 was announced by HM Revenue & Customs on 6 July 2018. Read Article

June 29, 2018

Indonesia will tax e-liquid

The Republic of Indonesia will introduce an excise tax on liquid used in electronic cigarettes on July 1. Ministry of Finance regulation number 146/PMK.010/2017 includes “extracts and essences” among other tobacco products to be subject to the Tobacco Products Excise Tax. Read Article

May 29, 2018

European Commission initiates public consultation on taxation of novel products

Less than six months have passed since the European Commission announced that it would defer any proposal for taxing e-cigarettes and other vapor products. Just days ago, however, the Commission initiated a public consultation on excise duties applied to manufactured tobacco and possible taxation of novel products. Read Article

March 16, 2018

HM Treasury will create new tax category for heated tobacco products

HM Treasury announced this week that it will create a new product category for taxing heated tobacco products. Read Article

February 5, 2018

Poland introduces taxes on vapor products

Poland has joined a growing number of EU Member States that levy excise taxes on vapor products. Read Article

January 16, 2018

European Commission opts not to tax vapor products

The European Commission has decided not to tax electronic cigarettes or novel tobacco products such as “heat not burn” products. Read Article

December 30, 2017

Connecticut will apply a discount when taxing “modified risk tobacco products”

Legislators in the State of Connecticut (USA) have agreed to apply a 50% reduction of the tax imposed on tobacco products for any product that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) designates as a “modified risk tobacco product”. Read Article

December 7, 2017

Taxes on heated tobacco are trending below those on cigarettes

Last month the South Korean Parliament voted to apply the individual consumption tax on heated tobacco products at a rate equivalent to 89% of the tax levied on traditional cigarettes. The move by South Korean lawmakers preserves but significantly reduces the tax discount for lower risk vapor products compared to the rates applied to combustible… Read Article

December 4, 2017

Portuguese budget amends tax on “heat not burn” and other tobacco products

The Portuguese Parliament has approved changes to the taxation of various tobacco products. Read Article

November 30, 2017

More taxes on heated tobacco expected in Korea

South Korea’s National Assembly approved a bill earlier this month which raised the level of tax on heated tobacco products with 230 of 239 members present voting in favor. Read Article

September 29, 2017

Cyprus introduces taxes on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco

Under urgent procedures Cyprus’ unicameral House of Representatives approved a bill introducing taxes on vapor products. Read Article

September 7, 2017

OPINION: Korea may go a step too far in taxing heat-not-burn products

The Republic of South Korea has been in the vanguard of vapor product taxation since 2011 when it extended the Tobacco Consumption Tax (excise) to a new class of “electronic tobacco”, defined as liquid nicotine solution used in electronic devices. Read Article

August 7, 2017

Bulgaria agrees to tax on heated tobacco products

Bulgaria has become the most recent country to introduce an excise tax on heated tobacco products. Read Article

July 25, 2017

Delaware imposes a tax on vapor products

Vapor products sold in the State of Delaware  are now classified as tobacco products following the passage of House Bill No. 242. Read Article

July 13, 2017

California raises the excise tax on e-cigarettes and other tobacco products

In November 2016, California voters approved Proposition 56, which amended the definition of “tobacco products,” under the California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law to include additional tobacco products, among these, electronic cigarettes.   Read Article

July 12, 2017

How should heated tobacco be taxed?

Competition among producers of heated tobacco products is, well, heating up. PMI’s iQOS, BAT’s Glo and JTI’s Ploom Tech have all been launched in Japan and other test markets in order to capture a share of the millions of smokers switching to non-combustible alternatives. Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation recently announced that it was joining the fray. Read Article

May 31, 2017

UK consultation on taxation of heated tobacco products ends soon

The UK Government’s public consultation on the tax treatment of heated tobacco products will wind up shortly on June 12. HM Treasury initiated this open dialogue on March 20 in order to address the potential need to introduce a new category for heated tobacco products in the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979. Read Article

April 1, 2017

California’s tax on e-cigarettes goes into effect

In November 2016 voters in California approved Proposition 56 which added electronic cigarettes to the list of tobacco products subject to excise tax. That provision became effective on 1 April 2017. Read Article

March 10, 2017

Estonia debates tax on vapor products

Estonia’s Parliament is currently debating a new tax on vapor products. The Riigikogu, as the Parliament is known, is considering a bill to amend the Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel and Electricity Excise Duty Act and the Tobacco Act. Read Article

March 2, 2017

A template for taxing heated tobacco products has emerged

Non-combustible tobacco products that generate vapor for inhaling by heating tobacco are growing in popularity around the world. Most of the growth has taken place outside the United Stated, primarily in Europe and Asia. Read Article

February 9, 2017

States are moving to tax vapor products

Governors and legislatures in several states have begun the year tabling proposals to tax vapor products. The proposals differ in the scope and levels of the taxes. Read Article

January 6, 2017

Russia introduces new taxes on vapor products

Vapor products have been added to the list of excisable products contained in Article 181, paragraph 1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The amendments to Parts 1 and 2 of the Tax Code were approved on November 30, 2016. Read Article

January 4, 2017

Portugal’s 2017 budget contains important and noteworthy changes for vapor products

Portugal’s budget for 2017 was approved by Parliament in Law no. 42/2016 on December 28. It contains some important and noteworthy changes for vapor products. Read Article

December 30, 2016

More taxes to come in 2017

The current year saw the introduction of excise taxes on vapor products in a handful of European countries as well as state and local jurisdictions in the USA.  As the new year rapidly approaches we take a brief look at vapor products taxes that have been approved in 2016 for implementation in 2017. Read Article

December 20, 2016

Europe seeks a clearer vision on future of e-cigarette taxation policy

While the European Commission is engaged in a consultation process on the taxing of e-cigarettes, seven EU member states have already instituted their own tax schemes. Read Article

November 30, 2016

Slovak Republic approves smokeless tobacco excise

The Slovak Republic has approved an excise tax for a new category of “smokeless tobacco” product. Read Article

November 10, 2016

Voters in CA and ND split over taxing e-cigarettes

California voters have overwhelmingly approved Proposition 56 which raises the State’s excise tax on cigarettes to $2.87 per pack and applies an equivalent duty on electronic cigarettes. Read Article

November 2, 2016

California’s Proposition 56 would tax electronic cigarettes the same as other tobacco products

Californians are fond of direct democracy, if the frequency of ballot initiatives in this state is any indication. Read Article

September 28, 2016

FCTC: Combustible tobacco products should be taxed at higher levels than ENDS

Participants at the Sixth Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control held in Moscow in October 2014 invited the World Health Organization to prepare a report on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) and Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENNDS) for the seventh session of the COP to be held in Delhi, India in November 2016. Read Article

September 20, 2016

New Zealand: E-cigs must not be used as a cash grab

The leader of New Zealand’s Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (ACT), David Seymour, welcomes the country’s move toward legalization of electronic cigarettes but cautions the Government against applying excise tax on these products.  Read Article

September 14, 2016

Finnish Government moves to tax e-cigarettes

The government of Finland plans to follow other Member States that have introduced taxes on electronic cigarettes prior to the European Commission issuing its own guidelines for taxing these vapor products. Read Article

September 1, 2016

North Dakota voters consider tax on liquid nicotine

Voters in the North Dakota will decide in a referendum this November if the state should include liquid nicotine in the definition of tobacco products subject to excise tax. The ballot initiative, which seeks to amend the state’s Tobacco Products Tax Law (Chapter 57-36 of the North Dakota Century Code) would also double the rate… Read Article

August 26, 2016

Ireland: Now is not the time to tax e-cigarette liquid

Ireland currently has the second highest excise tax on cigarettes among the European Union’s 28 member states, trailing only the UK. According to the Excise Duty Tables for Manufactured Tobacco published in July by the European Commission (DG TAXUD), the excise yield from cigarettes sold in Ireland at the weighted average price (WAP) is EUR… Read Article

July 19, 2016

Efforts underway to repeal to Pennsylvania’s excessive tax on electronic cigarettes

Lawmakers in Pennsylvania (USA) approved a hefty tax of 40% on the wholesale price of electronic cigarettes this summer in a move to close the state’s persistent budget gap. Proponents claimed that the new levy would generate USD 13 million in additional revenue. Read Article

January 26, 2016

Tracking the e-cigarette trade

The United States Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) has taken steps to alleviate statistical challenges that prevented government and industry experts from determining the volume of electronic cigarette imports. The majority of e-cigarette devices sold in the United States and Europe are imported, primarily from China. Yet Customs officials lacked the necessary record keeping… Read Article