TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has announced there will be no increase in the taxes and excise on tobacco in 2019. The decision was made after the ministry consulted with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and cabinet ministers today.
“After hearing the cabinet’s evaluation and suggestions, we decided not to change the [tobacco tax] for 2019,” said Sri Mulyani after the meeting today.
The taxes on tobacco for 2018 saw a 10.04 percent increase compared to 2017. The increase varies across cigarette industries, depending on the manufacturing types.
Read: Tobacco Use Still Major Cause of Death: WHO
In 2018, taxes on machine-made "kretek" cigarettes (SKM) rose by 10.9 percent, machine-produced white cigarettes (SPM) climbed by 13.5 percent, while the more traditional hand-assembled cigarette industry (SKT) surged by 7.3 percent.
Sri Mulyani also announced the ministry would postpone its plans to merge several tobacco industry groups and continue to refer to this year’s structure and tax policy.
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