Disappointment over India's Decision on Tobacco Tax in 2024-25 Budget
According to Indian media outlet The Hindu, The Anti Tobacco Forum, Mysuru, expressed disappointment over the decision in the upcoming interim federal budget for 2024-25 to exempt tobacco products from taxation.
The organization's convener, Vasanthkumar Mysoremath, expressed his understanding of the government's decisions in a statement. However, he also believed that the government missed an important opportunity to increase funding for the healthcare sector through taxing tobacco products.
He specifically mentioned that although the central government is responsible for tobacco tax collection, he urged the state of Karnataka to consider imposing a cleanliness fee for the environmental issues caused by smokers casually disposing of cigarette butts and chewing tobacco leaves.
The Anti-Tobacco Forum has highlighted the rampant pollution caused by the indiscriminate disposal of cigars, cigarettes, and cigarette butts on a daily basis. Therefore, they suggest that Karnataka state's budget should consider imposing an environmental clean-up tax on manufacturers, distributors, and sellers, to cover the costs of cleaning up cigarettes, cigarette butts, and non-biodegradable vegetable-tip plastic bags.
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