Tobacco Taxes – We Are Giving up 900 million  The latest sting,
called “minimum tax” is a tax on cigarettes that no one will
pay. For the joy of Big Tobacco, the added income for the State
will be zero.  On the contrary, the “minimum excise” indicated
by the European Union would bring an additional 900 million euro
into the State coffers every year without disrupting the tobacco
price lists.  With the “minimum excise,” the prices in tobacco
shops of the most expensive cigarettes would stay the same,
while the prices of the cheaper brands (MS, Diana, Winston, Pall
Mall etc.) might stay the same, or increase just slightly, at
the discretion on the manufacturer.  If we calculate the income
for the State based on the “minimum excise” indicated by the EU,
instead of the “minimum tax” invented by Italy, with an annual
consumption of four and a half billion packs, the total comes to
900 million euro more of public money.  This is only an
approximate figure, because some variables would have to be
considered due to p