Cigarette prices to increase by NT$5 per pack starting today

The size of the price hike was just half of a price markup of NT$10 aired earlier by some tobacco importers.

A top official with the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp. (TTLC) said that most of the locally-produced and imported cigarettes would experience a price raise of NT$5 per pack, as the health tax is hiked to NT$10 from NT$5.

The official said that in order to better take care of the interests of medium- to low-income consumers and not to affect local commodity prices, the TTLC has decided to reflect only the increased health tax on the prices of its tobacco products.

Market sources said that along with the health tax raise, although just NT$5, the business tax and business income tax will rise as a result, translating into an increase of NT$7-8 in the cost of cigarette per pack. This is why a price raise of NT$10 per pack was aired earlier.

But since a leading tobacco importer has decided to absorb part of the increased costs and raise its cigarette price by just NT$5 per pack, other importers felt astonished but they soon decided to follow suit to stay competitive.

Meanwhile, local tobacco retailers said that when the health tax of NT$5 was first launched a few years ago, the tax was mainly absorbed by dealers and retailers themselves.

But this time, the additional health tax of NT$5 will be passed onto consumers.

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