Lukong Pius Nyuylime
18 January 2005
2005 Finance Law cancels 25 % tax reduction on alcohol, spirits and cigarettes.
The 2005 finance law in a bid to fetch funds for State coffers has incidentally addressed one of the burning issues in Cameroon; the excessive consumption of alcohol and cigarette, which remained a serious threat to the health of Cameroonians. The number of adepts in beer drinking and cigarettes smoking has been mounting. Everyday, bars spring up while new brands of cigarettes emerge. Quite a good business economically, but should we sacrifice our health for the sake of the economy? That is the question many people have been asking. This question is certainly behind certain decisions taken by health authorities in Cameroon, notably the inscription, "Dangerous to Your Health" on every packet of cigarettes.
And like nature would have it, laws that have thrived in certain societies different from ours in tradition, customs and practice were transposed into Cameroon, facilitating the importation and fabrication of alcoholic drinks, spirits and cigarettes. These products highly enjoyed tax favours, the pretext being to protect local industries against competition from their foreign counterparts. This was done through a reduction of 25 % applied at the level of importation. In other words, taxes were paid at the level of customs. This practice went on for years. But with the nefarious consequences that it became necessary for the State to have a grip of the sector. Three major reasons can be advanced for the sudden twist: the need to protect the health of Cameroonians, the urgent need to adequately spread out taxes on the sector and the financial needs of State coffers.
Unfortunately, the measures has brought in untold consequences, price hikes of all drinks including non alcoholic ones. Some traders have added as much as CFA 50 on the initial price while some who want to be moderate have added CFA 25. Others have even added the price on old stocks they had before and which were bought at old rates before the finance law went operational. This is the problem price control authorities will have to grapple with.
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