EDITORIAL: Tread carefully on tax

Friday, June 5, 2020 0:01

By EDITORIAL

Overall tax due to government such as excise duty, VAT and corporate tax is likely to drop.

While the government has always justified that increasing sin tax on commodities such as alcohol and cigarettes helps discourage consumption, the move will upset the war on illicit brews.

The price of bottom-end beer such as Senator Keg will rise, taking it out of reach of the targeted consumers and therefore encourage consumption of illicit brew.

This will not only put the lives of consumers at risk, but also cut the tax that government will get out of beer companies and also render thousands of sorghum farmers jobless.

Overall tax due to government such as excise duty, VAT and corporate tax is likely to drop due to reduced demand and increased consumption of illicit alcohol.