SRINAGAR, MAY 24: Governor N.N Vohra, in a letter to Finance Minister, Mr. Haseeb A. Drabu, has asked the latter to increase tax on tobacco products from the present 40 % to atleast 65% to secure a significant decrease in tobacco consumption which is leading to serious diseases and the incidence of cancers in the State.
The Governor has observed that Rajasthan and Punjab have increased taxes on tobacco products to 65% and 55 % respectively and, in J&K, consequent to the increase in the tax from 13.5 % to 40 % on tobacco products, the level of tobacco consumption is reported to have significantly gone down, especially among the youth, besides generating threefold increase in the revenue earned. In this background he has called upon the Finance Minister to raise the tax level to 65%.
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