Egypt imposes new taxes on cigarettes

Egypt will begin collecting an additional one Egyptian pound ($0.064) for every pack of cigarettes sold in the local market starting July, the state-run General Authority for Health Insurance announced yesterday.

The authority said in a statement that the increase in tariffs would apply to both “local and international cigarette brands,” adding that another 10 per cent of taxes would be imposed on all tobacco products.

The statement pointed out that the new law was imposing “an additional 25 Egyptian piasters ($0.016) every three years, until the total increase hits 1.5 Egyptian pounds ($0.095) by July 2027.”

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“The authority will earn 75 piasters ($0.048) on every pack of cigarettes sold in the local market, provided that it increases every three years by about 25 piasters ($0.016), starting from the new financial year 2021-22,” the authority noted.

The agency said that the earned money would be injected into “enhancing the country’s public medical services.”

The state’s revenue from tobacco taxes have increased over the past five years by nearly 100 per cent. During the financial year 2016-17 it amounted to some 35 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.2 billion), while it amounted to 50 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.2 billion) the following year.