Cigarettes are becoming more expensive again: Tobacco group JTI, to which the former Austria Tabak and tobacco wholesaler Tobaccoland belong in Austria, will raise the prices of brands such as Camel, Meine Sorte and Benson&Hedges on 1 March by 30 cents per pack. So the company is raising prices for some products even before the tobacco tax increase – it should take place at the beginning of April. The other manufacturers should therefore also gradually adjust their prices.
“We thus meet a request from the tobacconists and thereby also absorb part of the large cost increases,” said Ralf-Wolfgang Lothert, member of the management of JTI Austria, in a statement. According to Lothert, the margin increase for tobacconists as of April 1 will still be more than 8 percent per year, despite the tax increase.
Prices have been rising continuously for years
On average, a pack of cigarettes cost 5.50 euros last year. Cigarette prices have been rising continuously for years. In 2011, the package still cost an average of 3.95 euros. For every pack of cigarettes sold in Austria, the state receives about 77 percent of the sales price in the form of taxes, with the rest going to manufacturers, wholesalers and tobacconists.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
