Beware New Snus Tax Hike On It's Way For EU!

[pris]

http://www.northerner.com/newsletter/1149/index.html

[kevs]

FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUU 5 eur increase per kg, time to stock up I guess.

[muddyfunkstar]

Yikes. Wish I could afford to hoard.

Hey, maybe this is related to the legal wranglings about selling in the EU? SM might start shipping to EU again? If I having to pay over the odds for my snus, I'd like to have a bit more choice.

Hell, might even start buying from the US and chancing my arm with Customs.

[lxskllr]

That doesn't sound like a huge tax to me. 1.2€ per roll of portions.

[rickcharles606]

yeah, if it's 5 pounds per kg, then per gram it's not that much is it? Sorry, it's early and I refuse to do the math...someone else do it, lol


EDIT:...I went and read what the increase actually is....not just 5 pounds/kg....but it's a 5 pound/kg increase. That blows ;-(

[lxskllr]

Well, you can be sure the makers will shrink the tin size again to keep the sheep placated. We don't want them to notice how they're getting screwed, do we?

[pris]

Well I'm guessing Skruf portions having gone down from 1g to 0.9g will now go down to 0.8g. Geez, they'll be minis soon :/

[bill77.017]

F**ks sake, everything's going up. There's a 2% increase in VAT on the way here in Ireland shortly, which will bring VAT to 23%!!! meanwhile the government is announcing cuts all over the place, and cutting people's income, all because of the bailout and the banks. Europe is in deep shit right now.

[AllanH]

That's just Swedish right-wing government waging class war against snus users, who are supposed to be rural and working class. Of course that haven't been case for a long time but Swedish toffs have long memories, like toffs everywhere.

[Fazer]

Hey, maybe this is related to the legal wranglings about selling in the EU? SM might start shipping to EU again?

I sent Swedish Match a direct message on twitter yesterday asking if the EU ban on sales would be reversed for Swedish Match products. I did get a reply, saying NO ... BUT ... The line that really jumped out at me was this “several internet retailers have recently chosen to review their internet sales of Swedish snus within the EU”

So the answer to your question muddyfunkstar could be the opposite, like a lot less or worse, no choice at all. About 5 mins after i got that reply i had an email from the Northerner about the tax, the line that really jumped out at me was "time to hoard" maybe it is time to hoard, big style, but it's ok if you can afford it.

I've not got a good feeling about this

[justintempler]

I think the manufacturers have already made adjustments to their packaging, the tax increase that takes effect Jan. 1 has been known about since April.

http://bors.e24.com/news-stockholm/?...c1b886c1807f1c

SNUS: Government proposes tax increase 13% in the spring budget (NY)
April 13, 2011 | Published 09:26
(Supplement: from the fourth paragraph)
LONDON (Reuters) The Government wants from January 1, 2012 to raise the tax on snus with about 13 per cent from 336 per kg to 380 SEK.
It appears from the spring budget that was presented on Wednesday.
Among other proposals include a tax increase on cigarettes by about 10 percent.
The overall increase consists of an index increase, and partly by a point tax increase. For the 2012 results in the conversion of the consumer that the tax on snus increases with 7:43 per pound.Point tax increase (tobacco tax) as proposed represents an increase in the tax on snus to 37 per pound.
According to an impact assessment of the budget proposals are calculated cumulatively cause the price of a package of 19 cigarettes ether which now costs 48 SEK increases to about 51 SEK, including VAT. The price of a pack of snus, 45 grams, which now costs 47 SEK is expected to increase to around 49 SEK, including VAT.
"Snus is a product mainly produced in Sweden and Norway, which means that this market is exposed to competition from a smaller number of countries than those of other tobacco products. Taking into account the above-proposed tax on snus, the price of snus in Norway, including VAT, is still higher than the price of snus in Sweden. The proposed increase in the tax on snus is thus expected to be well balanced, "says the spring budget.
Mats Square Andersen +46 8 5191 7915
Direkt

[lxskllr]

Instead of shrinking the tins, they should put a sticker on them that details the amount of taxes on that tin. That would be the honest approach, and it might get people pissed enough to try to do something about it.

[muddyfunkstar]

the line that really jumped out at me was "time to hoard" maybe it is time to hoard, big style, but it's ok if you can afford it.

Nah, it's just a cynical marketing ploy to encourage panic buying.

[lxskllr]

Nah, it's just a cynical marketing ploy to encourage panic buying.

Perhaps, but it's still good advice. Before PACT passed, I got as much snus as I could. I'm still sitting on snus I paid as little as $1 a tin for. I've said it a million times, but now is the best time to buy. No matter when it is, now is always best. I don't foresee snus ever getting cheaper. To do that, would mean admitting an original error, and there isn't a government employee in the world that will ever admit to making a mistake. Tobacco is one of the tools governments use for oppression. They won't be giving that up any time soon.

[BlueSaint]

Sucks, our government makes some totally ****ed decisions sometimes..