soon an increase of 70 cents per pack?

Bad news for smokers. The government will present the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS) to the Council of Ministers on Monday. The executive could on this occasion announce an indexation on inflation of excise duties on tobacco. This « would lead to an increase of around 70 cents in the price of cigarette packs », according to the daily. The echoes.

After a series of price increases intended to lower the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes to 10 euros during Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term, tobacco taxation was frozen in France two years ago. It should certainly evolve next year. But the question is to what extent.

The package at 11.20 euros?

According to the law, excise duties on tobacco must increase automatically according to the price increase of year N-2, with a ceiling of 1.8%. A rule that could soon change in the context of the financing of Social Security. According to our colleagues, the government would consider removing the ceiling for the tax increase indexed to inflation, while now taking into account the price increase of year N-1.

Knowing that inflation should be around 6% in France in 2022, excise duties on tobacco could well increase in the same proportions in 2023, if the government decides to take action. An increase that would increase the price of tobacco packets by « about 70 cents » according to The echoes. A packet of Marlbro could thus soon cost 11.20 euros. The price of a packet of rolling tobacco could soon exceed 15 euros.

Asked about this hypothesis on RTL, government spokesman Olivier Véran referred to the presentation of the PLFSS. « That’s where the announcements will come in, » he said. « For the moment, nothing is arbitrated but it will not be long, » confirms Philippe Coy, president of the Confederation of tobacconists.

Worried tobacconists

He said he was « worried ». “The tax tool has been used for twenty years, and this has increased the parallel market, and has resulted in an economic disaster for our network with 10,000 establishments closed in 15 years”, he argues. According to him, any increase should be “very moderate, around 20 cents per year”.

Philippe Coy calls for « a multi-annual visibility of taxation, as under the previous five-year term », allowing professionals « to pilot the liner and find the right directions ». In France, some 24,500 tobacconists live from the monopoly of the sale of tobacco, which generates 60 to 80% of their income, according to the Confederation of tobacconists.

Tobacco sales fell by 6.6% in 2021, according to the General Directorate of Customs and Indirect Duties. Last month, 2.8 million cigarettes were sold in France (+0.5% in one year) and 559,000 grams of rolling tobacco were sold (-4.90% in one year).