Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products, School of Economics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products, School of Economics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa.
Tob Control. 2024 Feb 20;33(2):208-214. doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057414.
Economic theory predicts that the excise tax structure influences the distribution of cigarette prices. Evidence shows that uniform specific excise tax structures exhibit the least price variability relative to other tax structures. The distribution of cigarette prices under different excise tax structures has never been examined for a group of African countries.
To examine the distribution of cigarette prices under different tax structures in nine African countries and to critically evaluate the effectiveness of African regional tax directives in promoting public health.
Data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, conducted in eight African countries during 2012-2018, and data from the 2017 Gambia Tobacco Survey were used to construct survey-derived cigarette prices. The coefficients of variation and skewness of the price distribution were compared in the context of each country's cigarette excise tax structure.
The least price variability is found in countries with a uniform specific tax, or a mixed system with a minimum specific floor. Cigarette price variability is largest in countries with uniform ad valorem tax structures. Three of the four countries with ad valorem tax structures are in regional blocs, where the tax directives specify that they should implement an ad valorem structure.
Regional tax directives that require the adoption of uniform specific excise taxes, or high minimum specific floors, could be an efficient way to get multiple African countries to adopt a tax structure that reduces substitution possibilities in response to excise tax increases.
经济理论预测，消费税结构会影响香烟价格的分布。有证据表明，相对于其他税收结构，统一的特定消费税结构表现出最小的价格可变性。不同消费税结构下的香烟价格分布在非洲国家群体中从未被检验过。
检查九个非洲国家在不同税收结构下的香烟价格分布，并批判性地评估非洲区域税收指令在促进公共健康方面的有效性。
使用 2012 年至 2018 年在八个非洲国家进行的全球成人烟草调查的数据，以及 2017 年冈比亚烟草调查的数据，构建了基于调查的香烟价格。在每个国家的香烟消费税结构背景下，比较了价格分布的变异系数和偏度。
在采用统一特定税或最低特定税门槛的混合制度的国家中，价格可变性最小。在采用统一从价税结构的国家中，香烟价格的可变性最大。在采用从价税结构的四个国家中有三个在区域集团中，这些指令规定它们应采用从价税结构。
要求采用统一特定消费税或高最低特定税门槛的区域税收指令，可能是使多个非洲国家采用一种税收结构的有效途径，这种税收结构可以减少对消费税增加的替代可能性。
