The Slovakian government has approved excise tax hike on cigarettes beginning in February 2009 to comply with EU norms, Reuters reports.

Under the approved draft, which needs to be passed by parliament, the minimum tax will go up to SKK 2.45 (EUR 0.08) per cigarette in 2009, compared to the current SKK 2.10. Tobacco tax will stay at SKK 1,930 per kilo.
Excise tax on tobacco products had risen at the start of this year, resulting in massive pre-stocking by retailers, which had boosted Slovakia's gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter of last year. The finance ministry said pre-stocking before the 2009 tax hike should boost state budget revenues by SKK 4.5 billion (EUR 148.5 million) this year, but it was predicted to cause a shortfall of roughly SKK 4.6 billion in 2009. (pi)