HNB Health Promotion Fund tax hike passes subcommittee

The bill subcommittee of the Health and Welfare Committee in the Korean parliament agreed to increase taxes for the Health Promotion Fund on heat-not-burn tobacco products Thursday.

The amendment to the National Health Promotion Act, if passed by the National Assembly, would raise taxes collected for the Health Promotion Fund from heat-not-burn tobacco product sales to 750 won ($0.70) per pack from the current 438 won per pack.

Taxes levied on tobacco products, including the newly introduced heat-not-burn products such as IQOS from Philip Morris International, are composed of a number of separate taxes.

Earlier this month, the National Assembly voted to raise the individual consumption tax on heat-not-burn cigarettes to 90 percent of the taxes levied on combustible cigarettes. 

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)