"Most of the Indonesian people want that the excise and prices of cigarettes should be increased significantly to protect people from the dangers of cigarettes," Tulus Abadi, the executive board chairman of the Indonesian Consumers Institute Foundation (YLKI), said here Saturday.
Besides protecting people from the negative impact of cigarettes, a significant increase in excise on cigarettes will also protect poor families from becoming poorer and poorer as a result of cigarette consumption.
Excise is an instrument to carry out control, so that the increase in the excise should be aimed at reducing the purchasing power of the public, Tulus said.
With an average increase of about 10.54 percent, the public will still be able to buy cigarettes easily, so that excise as a tool for control has no impact.
"YLKI is urging the government to change the planned increase of 10.54 percent to 20 percent," he said.
He believes that whether it is in the health, financial or economic context, the increase by 10.54 percent excise on cigarettes is too conservative because it only considers as reason the economic growth and the financial sector.
The government is planning to raise the excise rates on cigarettes next year at an average 10.54 percent.
The biggest increase will be on machine rolled non-clove cigarettes which will be set at 13.46 percent while the lowest one is set at zero percent, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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