From:InsideCostaRica.com
Four million smuggled cigarettes confiscated so far this year
Costa Rica’s tobacco companies fear that a tax of more than ¢400 colones, as proposed in the anti-smoking law, the country could be flooded with smuggled goods.
“Such a tax will become prohibitive for the consumer, with that it will take away employment from the legal industry and give to the underground. The same channels used by the drug trafficking organizations can be used for tobacco smuggling”, said Guillermo Oliva, director of Tabacalera Costarricense
Currently, only 10% of illegal tobacco product enters Costa Rica and sold at a cheaper price. Oliva fears that with the proposed tax it will increase smuggling.
A pack of 20cigarettes in Costa Rica sells for between ¢900and ¢1.500 colones (us$1.75 and us$2.95). At present, the tax on each pack of cigarette is between ¢360 and ¢380 colones, generating about ¢40 billion colones in taxes annually.
The proposed tax would more than double the current tax.
According to the Policía Fiscal (Tax Police) this year so far they have seized some 4 million illegal cigarettes, last year the seizure was for about 6 million
Luis Bonilla, director of the Fiscal Police, says there is currently are no technical tools to determine if the product has its tax paid or not.
However, authorities are clear that by detecting the movement of illicit trafficking, smugglers change the way they transport and introduction of the goods, with the majority coming through the southern border with Panama.
Various sectors are calling for an anti-smoking law, among them the Red Nacional Antitabaco (Renata), as well as pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons.
To make their point to legislators, the latter installed a clock on the boulevard that leads to the Legislative Assembly and sounds an alarm every 2 hours and 40 minutes to mark the death of a Costa Rican illnesses associated with tobacco.
The anti-smoking law, in addition to increasing tax aims to eliminate the presentation of 10 cigarette packs and include large warnings on each pack on the health risks of smoking and extend smoke-free spaces, which will include restaurants among others and enforcement
Ley No.7501 Regulación del Fumado bans smoking in public (state office) buildings and public transport, like a bus or taxi, public recreational areas for minors, public and private schools and requiring restaurants to provide a smoking areas.
The law also prohibits the sale of cigarettes to minors and controls advertising practices.
Although the anti-smoking law is bogged down in the Legislative Assembly it is on the agenda for this session and though many feel it may not pass before the Christmas holiday break, it will be presented before legislators for voting in January, in some form.
