UK Government to Implement New Tax Policy on E-cigarettes

According to an ITV2 report on February 27th, the UK government is expected to announce a new tax policy for e-cigarettes in the upcoming budget on March 6th. This new tax is anticipated to apply to the e-liquid within e-cigarettes, with products containing higher levels of nicotine being subject to higher taxes.

In addition, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer will also announce an increase in tobacco taxes to further position e-cigarettes as a cheaper alternative to smoking. Value-added tax applies to e-cigarettes, but unlike tobacco, there is currently no separate tax on them. It is expected that by the year 2028-29, the department will raise over £5 billion annually through taxes on e-cigarettes and tobacco.

Currently, in several European countries, e-cigarette products have been included in the tax category, and the European Commission also plans to implement a minimum tax rate across the European Union.

According to sources from the UK Treasury, the British government has not yet made a decision on what type of tax cut to announce on March 6th.

Including the e-cigarette tax, all new taxation policies by the UK government aim to increase revenue in order to fulfill the tax reduction policies in the fiscal plan. Areas being considered for tax reductions may include national insurance or income tax. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned before the budget that tax cuts could result in deteriorating public services, such as local government and the court system. It has suggested that the Chancellor should not announce tax cuts in the upcoming budget without specifying how they will be funded.

According to data from the UK National Statistics Office, there are currently 4.5 million e-cigarette users in the UK, accounting for 8.7% of all adults, compared to 7.7% in 2021. The largest group of e-cigarette users is young people aged 16 to 24, with the usage rate increasing from 11.1% in 2021 to 15.5% in 2022.

In addition, according to new data, the number of children in the UK using e-cigarettes has doubled in the past three years, and the proportion of teenagers aged 11 to 15 using e-cigarettes has reached 9%. In January of this year, the UK government took action to address this issue by banning disposable e-cigarettes and imposing restrictions on the flavors, packaging, and display of e-cigarettes in stores.