Smokers have reason to rejoice at the government’s national budget for 2018 as, for the first time in Malta’s budget history, no extra taxes have been added to cigarettes. 

That’s right; after years of steady increases, the price of cigarettes and tobacco will not go up next year. A government spokesperson confirmed with Lovin Malta that the move is unprecedented in Maltese history, with every prior budget including a fresh cigarette tax. 

A screenshot of the Budget for 2017

Excise duty on cigarettes and tobacco has long been considered an easy and uncontroversial way for the government of the day to rake in more revenue, with the higher tax justified as a means to discourage smoking. 

Yet Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has decided that the budget for 2018 – Malta’s first surplus budget in almost 40 years – will be completely free of any new taxes.

A recent European survey found that around a quarter of Maltese people are regular smokers, in line with the EU average.  

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]