At first glance it resembles those frequent smoke games in smokers. But for a long time, the cigarette industry has been in real turmoil. historically it was dominated by multinational corporations Philip Morris, with its heart in the United States and British American Tobacco, based in London.
Philip Moris is number one in the world and still holds the scepter in the country with the 50% of the market and the best-selling brand, Philip Morris. This is not the case with British American Tobacco, which dropped several cases.
In an enterprise whose selling price is determined by the level of taxes, two national companies got in their way.
The question at hand is minimum tax, Founded by Néstor Kirchner in 2004 with the triple purpose of raising money, discouraging consumption and combating smuggling. Cristina Kirchner turned it into law and Mauricio Macri established years later that it was repaired and readjusted four times a year. What is said, state policy.
The price difference between the companies that pay it and those that have obtained precautionary measures is abysmal and it is due to those judicial advantages. The minimum excise duty is $217 per pack of 20 cigarettes.which drives up, for example, the value of the Philip Morris Marlboro to $560 or al Philip Morris costs $440.
In the case of Sarandí, one of the national capital companies obtained the interim measure in 2016 and was subsequently revoked at the level of the Supreme Court. The novelty this time is the irruption of Rosario Bronway who arrives in the sector from other areas and is solicited the judicial protection that was denied was added to a million dollar request from the AFIP.
Not resigning, he threatened to do so lay off its nearly 200 employees until at the end of last week the AFIP asked him to pay 90 million dollars and in this way he will be able to access the stamps essential to sell the packs of cigarettes. Bronway, whose visible face is Dario Ipolito, is the only tobacco company in Santa Fe and offers the Pier and Dolchester brands.
To all this, tobacco producers have long since cried out to heaven: They fear the Special Tobacco Fund will be defunded which represents 8% of the final price of the cigarette. They want everyone to pay taxes.
In turn, Sarandí, with a track record on the field and under the direction of Pablo Otero, has just strengthen the deal which it maintains with the British Imperial Brand. She owns the French Gauloises and the North American brands West and Nevada.
According to insiders, the price of cigarettes in Argentina is low, even if measured against other products in the family basket. That is why they believe it is crucial that the tax payment is satisfied in its entirety. discourage consumption in a country where 45,000 people die each year from tobacco use and these diseases represent the 37% of health expenditure.
Argentina is, after Cuba, the second largest consumer in the region with 744 cigarettes per inhabitant and per year.
We are the sixth largest tobacco producing country in the world and the second largest in the region.
According to the World Health Organization, the tax burden on the final price of cigarettes in Argentina reaches 80.3% while in Chile it rises to 89.1%. Chile is the country that punishes consumption the most. Denmark, in the last step of the table, applies taxes of 74.85%.
Source: Clarin
