The fiscal equalisation tax stamp

Thierry Lazaro, a member of parliament for the Nord département, together with the head of the Nord tobacconists’ federation and with the backing of some thirty MPs, has tabled a bill aimed at taxing packs of cigarettes bought abroad.

A new bill

Since such packs are easy to identify, their warnings being different, consumers would be invited to pay of their own accord for a special 50-cent stamp bought from their tobacconist. The law would serve to recover the tax lost on cross-border purchases.

A joke or not? Imagine a smoker who buys supplies in Italy or Spain, for instance: would that person voluntarily go and be taxed at the local tobacconist? As it happens, on 5 February 2014 this bill, which was also intended to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting, was rejected after an unfavourable opinion from the Law Commission and from the government.

Here are a few extracts from the debate:

“ First of all, the measure is unworkable, since it relies on a voluntary step by the consumer. Can you really imagine people telling their tobacconist: and do not forget to add the little stamp?” said Jean-Michel Clément.

“You know that it is impossible to impose a national marking requirement on smoking accessories released for consumption in another European Union member state…” replied the minister for foreign trade.

Over to you: do you think a bill of this kind could one day be adopted?