The information about the increase in the price of snuff, which became public over the weekend, raised a storm in Swedish snuff circles.
The representative of the EU Commission has confirmed in Brussels that Sweden will not have to increase the tax on snuff products, says SVT.
The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported over the weekend that the EU Commission wanted Sweden to increase the snuff excise tax. According to the newspaper, it would have been desirable to increase the excise tax to 134 euros per kilo. The tax is now around 40 euros.
The planning would have increased the prices so that a so-called snuff disc would have cost more than 120 kroner, or about 11 euros.
– Sweden will continue to have complete freedom to tax snuff as it wishes, said EU Commission representative Dan Ferrie at the Commission’s daily press conference in Brussels.
The EU banned the sale of snuff and chewing tobacco in its territory in 1992, but made an exception for Sweden when it joined the EU in 1995.
The EU is scheduled to announce new tax increase proposals for tobacco products on December 7.