Hoti: PAN is telling citizens consume local tobacco that it is less harmful

According to Hoti, the government PAN through the decision to reduce excise in Kosovo, “practice is telling citizens consume local tobacco that it is less harmful”.

It through a Facebook text stressed that the primary goal of setting excises should be to discourage consumption of goods that harm health, not collection of revenues for the state budget.

This government has the basic knowledge deficit for economic development. When this is combined with a bad motive to use public position for personal needs, the consequences are fatal to most of society.

The PAN government has also made a big “decision”, lowering the excise in tobacco produced in Kosovo to only 30% of the market price, with the excuse to support local producers. As reported in the media, there is only one tobacco producer in Kosovo, who is co-owner of the prime minister's adviser and a municipal director from Mr. Ahmeti's party.

For clarification, the primary aim of the excise is not to raise revenues for the state budget, but to discourage consumption of goods that harm health. Therefore, Government Mustafa has twice in a row increased the excise in smoking to discourage consumption, with the aim of protecting health, and to equate the excise in Kosovo with the countries of the region.

With this decision, the PAN Government is practically telling citizens to consume local tobacco that it is less harmful.

If it was the goal to support local production, tobacco - producing farmers would have to be subsidized. Farmers would increase tobacco cultivation, enabling tobacco processing to provide raw materials and market cheaper tobacco prices”.