MRECA urges sensible e-cigarette tax rate in Malaysia
On February 23rd, the Malaysia Retail Electronic Cigarette Association (MRECA) called on the government to implement reasonable measures for electronic cigarette taxation. The Deputy Minister of Finance of Malaysia, Steven Sim, had previously stated that the government may include proposals for regulating the electronic cigarette industry in the 2023 budget plan, which could lead to an annual increase of nearly 1 billion Malaysian ringgit (approximately 156 million yuan) in government revenue.
Datuk Adzwan Ab Manas, President of MRECA, has expressed support for the government's introduction of regulatory measures such as a tax framework, but emphasized that the tax rate must be reasonable and not excessively high.
In the 2022 budget proposal submitted by the Ministry of Finance in October 2021, it was announced that the tax rate on tobacco would be increased by 200%. However, this proposal has not yet been implemented.
The Ministry of Finance has announced that a tax of 1.2 Malaysian Ringgit (approximately RMB 1.8) will be levied per milliliter of tobacco oil. This means an additional charge of 36 Malaysian Ringgit (approximately RMB 56.3) for a 30-milliliter bottle of tobacco oil. MRECA believes that the proposal is too high.
Adzwan stated that this would result in expensive electronic cigarette prices.
At the same time, he believes this will also discourage smokers from switching to electronic cigarettes due to their ultimately higher cost compared to traditional cigarettes. MRECA recommends that the government maintain the current tax rate of 0.40 ringgit per milliliter for e-liquid.
Finally, MRECA urges the immediate implementation of regulations in the industry to ensure products meet quality and safety standards.
References:
The Malaysian E-Vaporizers and Tobacco Alternative Association (MRECA) has stated that any proposed tax rate on vaping products should be reasonable. (Note: the original headline was already in standard journalistic English, only the article needed to be rewritten)
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