The government could give a boost to the tobacconists – The Figaro

The government has agreed to increase the remuneration of the tobacconists of tobacco : within 5 years, they should touch 8% net of the price of a package of cigarettes, compared to 6.9% today.

The agreement has been concluded today. According to RTL, the tobacconists, in congress at Paris until this evening, have received this afternoon a revaluation of their income from the government. The discussions with the government, which last for several weeks, have resulted today on a proposal for a Christian Eckert, secretary of State in charge of the Budget. The government has agreed to increase the compensation of the tobacconists in the next 5 years: specifically, sellers of cigarettes will affect 8% of the net price of a pack of cigarettes, compared to 6.9% today. This increase will result in about 10 cents more per pack sold is a gain of 100 million euros per year. In the idea of the government, this boost would have no effect on the price of a package of cigarettes, since it would be funded by a new tax levied on the turnover of manufacturers of tobacco which are contained in the draft social Security budget for 2017.

tobacconists worried about the future of their profession

The tobacconists, who renegotiate a new Contract for the future with the State, had already announced that they wanted an increase of the margin they earn on the sale of tobacco. “We are calling for an evolution of the discount in order that the profession continues to be attractive for generations to come. Today it is 6.9%. The evolution is to be determined but we ask the more possible,” said Pascal Montredon, president of the confederation of tobacconists, which brings together more than 500 professionals since yesterday in Paris. The tobacconists of tobacco also denounce an increasing tax burden with the vote on the draft law of financing social Security (PLFSS) provides in particular for an increase in the price of rolling tobacco of 15%.

another subject of discontent to the tobacconists remains the arrival of the neutral package, required to the sale from 1 January next year. “We’re going to end up with packages 100% covered with photos horrible and that the reference mark will be barely visible,” explains Pascal Montredon. A new look, which complicates the sorting, listing and storage of packages, but also the sale: the rate of nicotine is no longer indicated on the packages, it’s impossible for them to advise their clients on the quality of the tobacco, they explain. Officially, the increase announced by Christian Eckert aims to help tobacconists to better manage this change.

The tobacconists were to meet today to decide whether they accepted the agreement. However, the creation of the tax on the turnover of the manufacturers of the owl. In a press release, Philip Morris France wished to recall that “the tobacco prices are freely determined by each manufacturer and that any further increase of taxation could be passed on to the selling price. Thus, on a French market that was already very sensitive, where prices are the highest in continental Europe, any new tax measure could also lead to a destabilization of the legitimate tobacco market that is already heavily impacted with the arrival of the neutral package.”