Independent shopkeepers’ group the Tobacco Retailers Alliance says it is disappointed at the Chancellor’s Budget announcement that he will increase cigarette tax by 2%.
The alliance fears the tax increase will boost the black market in tobacco and cause small shops to lose thousands of pounds.
Ken Patel, a shopkeeper from Leicester and national spokesman for the group, said; “I’m disappointed that Mr Darling has increased the tax on tobacco, because this will only further boost the black market in tobacco which is already causing me to lose lots of business.
“Now that we are in a recession, more and more smokers are looking to buy tobacco from the black market to save money, and shops are losing out on those sales. This is definitely not the time to be further increasing the retail price of tobacco.
“The purpose of tax increases is to reduce the consumption of tobacco, but the more expensive tobacco becomes, the more likely it is that smokers will turn to the black market. The widespread availability of non-UK duty paid and counterfeit tobacco – usually sold at half the retail price – defeats the purpose of the tax rise policy.”
The Tobacco Retailers Alliance is a coalition of 26,000 independent retailers who all sell tobacco products. It is funded by the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA).
