Smoking looks likely to become more expensive thanks to a new tobacco tax model that will take effect in April, according to a JTI Austria newsletter, reports Oberösterreichische Nachrichten.

This comes after tobacco taxes remained stable in 2019 for the first time in ten years. The state earned around EUR 1.9 billion through tobacco taxes – EUR 2.4 billion counting added value tax. 13.6 billion cigarettes were smoked in Austria in 2019 which was 0.3 per cent less than in 2018. The price per packet went up from EUR 5.065 to EUR 5.10.
Smuggled cigarettes accounted for 16 per cent of the total amount which meant the state lost EUR 374 million in taxes. The damages for producers and trade amounted to around EUR 112 million, according to JTI.