ANKARA - Turkish Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said on Tuesday that they revised the taxation system for cigarettes and they imposed lump-sum tax.
Replying to a question about increase in insurance special consumption tax that took effect after it was published in the Official Gazette, Unakitan said that they classified the cigarettes according to blend of tobacco.
Noting that they impose less tax on those who use much Turkish tobacco, but much tax on those who use less Turkish tobacco, Unakitan said, ''we made classification according to blend of tobacco. In the past, lump-sum taxes were low, but now we increased them while we decreased proportional taxes. We have already adopted a law on this matter and we have started the practice under that law. Tax on cigarettes is always high. When cigarette producers deducted prices, they actually met the difference from the taxes. We were losing seventy percent while they were suffering thirty percent loss. There could not be such a thing. Now, we don't intervene in price decrease or increase, but they can't make deduction through our taxes.''
''Tax on cigarettes will remain proportional. Meanwhile, I want to stress that one box of most expensive cigarette in Turkey is currently two euros while it is five euros in Europe and eight euros in the United States; that is, cigarette is still cheap in Turkey,'' he said.
Replying to another question about latest increase in fuel products, Unakitan said that ''the prices have increased extraordinarily in the world at a rate which has never been seen in recent years. So we were obliged to make such an increase in fuel products. We never want to increase prices, but Turkey purchased oil for eleven U.S. dollars in the past, but it is now forty-four U.S. dollars.''
''However, exports from Turkey have increased over to sixty billion U.S. dollars and its trade is between 120-130 billion U.S. dollars. There is not a serious problem about Turkey's balance of payments. But oil prices increased and we must reflect it to consumers. The state must increase the prices if it can't endure it. Price increases are inevitable. As we said earlier, we can't make concessions from our economic program.''
(MS-AÖ) 10.08.2004