Pakistan, April 4 -- Aurat Foundation advocates a 26 percent FED increase on cigarettes instead of burdening the public by imposing GST on petroleum.
Speaking at an iftar dinner for the newly elected MNAs, Mr. Naeem Ahmed Mirza, Executive Director, Aurat Foundation, called the federal government for a Tobacco Tax Hike in 2024 to increase the budget deficit and save lives. Pakistan presently operates with a two-tiered Federal Excise Duty (FED) structure for cigarettes, categorized by price tiers. He further added that by reducing tobacco consumption through higher taxes, the economic burden associated with tobacco-related diseases is lowered, potentially freeing up resources that can be allocated towards poverty reduction efforts such as ta...