The Austrian state once again made good money from smokers last year. Tobacco tax revenue increased in 2024 compared to the previous year around 59 million on 2.14 billion euros after revenues had more or less stagnated in previous years. Including VAT, 2.8 billion euros were collected. The tax therefore contributes more than 2 percent to state budget revenue.
This emerges from a newsletter published on Tuesday by the tobacco company JTI Austria. “The increase in tobacco tax revenue shows that the current tax model, which is implemented up to and including 2026, is working,” said Ralf Wolfgang Lothertmember of the management board of JTI Austria, in the broadcast.
Cigarettes are the most polluted
Thanks to the tax model, the tax on tobacco products increases gradually every year, staggered according to different categories. From April 2027 a new tobacco and nicotine tax plan will be needed; implementation will be the task of the future government. Tobacco heater lower taxed as cigarettes.
The cigarette is currently subject to an excise tax of 60 percent of the sales price are the most heavily taxed, while tobacco heaters, for example, are only taxed at 17 percent. However, the market for tobacco heaters has been growing rapidly for several years, while the market for cigarettes has been declining. According to JTI Austria boss Ross Hennessy, a new tobacco tax plan will probably increase the tax burden for tobacco heaters and other currently lower-taxed products “to secure tax revenues”, as well as introduce taxes for new product categories such as non-medical nicotine products (e.g. nicotine pouches). newsletter. However, he expects “moderate taxation”.
Further taxation of cigarettes, on the other hand, would be “disproportionate” and lead to market distortions, “with the result that the consumption of illegal, at least untaxed products increases and tax revenue falls,” said Lothert.
The price of a pack of cigarettes has increased
One Pack of cigarettes cost in the previous year on a weighted average basis 5,96 Euroafter 5,768 euros the year before. The tobacconists also made good money from this, with their annual sales increasing by around 1.47 million euros to around 3.9 billion euros. Around 70 percent of tobacconists’ income comes from tobacco products. A total of 12.5 billion cigarettes were smoked in Austria in 2024, including those that were not taxed in Austria.
In 2023 there were still 12.6 billion cigarettes. The proportion of Smuggling chic remained almost constant at 11.7 percent or 1.3 billion cigarettes (2023: 11.6 percent). The resulting damage to manufacturers and retailers amounted to around 96 million euros. According to the JTI newsletter, the tax loss for the state due to cigarettes that were not taxed domestically but were consumed was 296 million.