KENYA
British American Tobacco Kenya is protesting against further increases in excise tax, saying that “unpredictable” tax increases are a threat to its Kenya business.
BAT Kenya managing director, Beverly Spencer-Obatoyinbo, said: “We would encourage the government to have a much more stable tax environment so that we can have a more predictable operating environment.”
Tobacco control advocates say that the average price increase for a pack of cigarettes is lower than that of kerosene and food, thus and therefore cigarette smoking is going up. As such, advocates have been pressuring the government to raise the tax on cigarettes from the current Sh2.50 per stick to Sh3.25, claiming it is still too low to curb tobacco consumption.