Cigarettes and alcohol could become more expensive as a result of the proposed changes to the Fiscal Budget Policy for 2023. Economist Veaceslav Ioniță claims that this will flourish smuggling, given that most of the counterfeit alcohol comes from the left region of the Dniester.
“Currently, the excise tax burden in the Republic of Moldova is twice as high as in Romania, and this has also led to illicit trade. If previously cigarettes were smuggled from the Republic of Moldova, nowadays we risk smuggling inside the country due to the very high pressure. Excise taxes must be increased according to the plan, so that we do not encourage what we have. For example, the smuggling of alcoholic products from restaurants amounts to 40%”, Veaceslav Ionința explained in the “Rezoomat” show from RLIVE TV.
The draft budget-fiscal policy for 2023 provides that the excise duty on tobacco products will increase by 25%, and the excise duty on ethyl alcohol – by 15%. The government plans to collect 60.3 million lei more, following the increase in the price of alcohol, and 681 million lei more, after the increase in tobacco excise.