Alcohol, tobacco excises may rise

Alcoholic beverages and cigarettes may become more expensive from 1 January 2010 as Parliament is considering to raise excises, with a bill to this effect being passed upon first reading on Tuesday, Info-Prim Neo reports. The intention to raise excises on alcohol and tobacco is part of a broader legislative initiative concerning the budget policy for the next year. According to this policy, the minimum wholesale and retail price of one liter of any strong drink will be 36 and 50 lei respectively. “The government will try in this way to reduce the amount of counterfeit products on the market, which is selling very cheap, at 15 lei a liter”, said Veaceslav Ionita, head of the parliamentary commission for finance and economy. Excises will also rise on beer, with 25 percent; filter-tipped cigarettes, with 4 percent; on gasoline and its derivatives, with 50 percent; and on other products, like jewelry and perfumes. Excises on imports of luxury cars will double. “The government is trying to find sources of increasing revenues, but these sources are looked for in a way that the national producer isn't affected; and if there will be modifications, they will target those kinds of goods that will not affect the masses”, says Ionita. Another intention is to maintain the zero rate tax on corporate income so that the crisis-stricken businesses have more time to recover. In agriculture, the government intends to pursue a policy that would protect the producers. On Wednesday, the commission headed by Ionita will hold debates on the 2010 budget policy bill to prepare it for the second reading.