From: What Happened to the Portcullis? | An independent view on developments affecting Customs & Trade in sub-Saharan Africa
A tobacco body has urged African governments to stamp out illegal tobacco trade, as their economies are losing billions of dollars in taxes annually. Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA) revealed that governments in the region are losing between US$20 billion and US$40 billion annually in taxes as a result of illegal tobacco trade, hence the need for collaboration among stakeholders to curb the vice.
This is contained in a statement issued by KPR Consulting Limited on Friday. “The size of the global illegal tobacco trade ranges between 330 and 660 billion cigarettes a year. These are cigarettes that are either smuggled, counterfeited or where tax is being evaded. “This equates to around six and 12 percent of global consumption, which deprives governments of between US$20 [billion] and US$40 billion a year in taxes,” the statement reads.
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