Tobacco tax: Syrian Arab Republic

S y ria n A ra b R e p u b lic Syrian Arab Republic Tobacco tax: How does WHO recommend that tobacco is taxed, in general?1 To reduce the affordability of tobacco This reduces consumption of tobacco and improves public health. Domestic not customs Customs taxes are eroded in trade agreements and thus do not provide long-term revenue. Excise not general Excise tax raises the price of the taxed good relative to all other goods, which discourages its consumption. Specific not ad valorem Specific tax leads to higher prices and a lower market share of cheap cigarettes. In an ad valorem system, a minimum specific tax should also be implemented to guarantee minimum price and revenue levels. Uniform not differential Uniform tax leads to larger reductions in smoking as there is less opportunity to switch between different tiers and types of tobacco products. Comparable across all tobacco products Similar levels of taxation across products reduce tobacco consumption, rather than simply leading to shifts in consumption between different tobacco products. No duty-free allowances Duty-free sales increase tobacco consumption due to lower prices of products, and reduce tax revenues. Regularly increased Regular tax increases in line with gross domestic product (GDP) ensure that the affordability and consumption of tobacco products reduce. Specific excise tax decreases in real value if it is not increased in line with inflation. With tobacco tax revenue earmarked Ideally, tobacco tax revenue should be earmarked for particular health spending purposes, for example on tobacco control strategies. How has tobacco been taxed in the Syrian Arab Republic?2 Around 40% of the retail price of cigarettes in the Syrian Arab Republic comprises tobacco tax. This share has been roughly constant over the last 10 years. There is an ad valorem tax on cigarettes, which is currently at 20% of the retail price before tax. Before 2012, the rate was 15% of retail sales price before tax. There is no minimum specific excise tax, and the tax applied to the most sold brand (MSB) of cigarettes has not been increased since 2012. What does WHO recommend as the next steps for tobacco tax in the Syrian Arab Republic? To reduce the affordability of tobacco There is a worrying lack of data on the affordability of tobacco in the Syrian Arab Republic and in comparison to other countries in the Region. Specific not ad valorem As the Syrian Arab Republic has an ad valorem domestic tax system, it should consider implementing a minimum specific excise tax. Regularly increased Tobacco tax must be increased in line with inflation and GDP growth to reduce the affordability of tobacco products. With tobacco tax revenue earmarked Ideally a share of tobacco tax revenue should be allocated to a health spending purpose. 1 WHO technical manual on tobacco tax administration. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010. 2 WHO’s series of reports on the global tobacco epidemic, 2009–2019. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2009–2019. © World Health Organization 2020 Some rights reserved. This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo. WHO-EM/TFI/224/E Tobacco tax as percentage of retail price2 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 Percentage of GDP per capita required to purchase 2000 of the MSB of cigarettes 2008 2010 Pe rc en ta ge o f G D P pe r c ap ita (% ) 100 80 60 40 20 0 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Pe rc en ta ge o f r et ai l p ric e ( % ) Excise specific Excise ad valorem VAT Import duty Other tax PPP: purchasing power parity. 4 3 2 1 0 Retail price of a pack of 20 of the MSB of cigarettes (PPP) 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Re ta il pr ic e (P PP ) Afghanistan Somalia Syrian Arab Republic Yemen Around 40% of the retail price of cigarettes in the Syrian Arab Republic comprises tobacco tax. This share has been fairly constant over a 10-year period. There is an ad valorem tax on cigarettes of 20% of the retail price before tax. Before 2012, the rate was 15% of retail sales price before tax. Price and affordability2 There is a lack of economic data over time on tobacco products in the Syrian Arab Republic. Between 2008 and 2010, cigarettes became more affordable. Cigarettes are cheaper in the Syrian Arab Republic than in other countries in the Region. Taxes on a pack of 20 cigarettes of the most sold brand (MSB)