The Anti Tobacco Forum, Mysuru, has expressed its disappointment over the Interim Union Budget 2024-25 for sparing tobacco products.
In a statement here, Convenor of ATF, Mysuru, Vasanthkumar Mysoremath said it was understandable for the present regime to play it safe by not levying taxes across different sectors, but it was an “opportunity lost” by the government for increasing the outlay to the health sector by levying taxes on tobacco products.
Though levy of tobacco tax is a central subject, he said Karnataka may consider certain levies for cleaning millions of cigarette/bidi butts discarded by smokers and cleaning the dirt due to spitting on the streets by gukta chewers.
Claiming that a large number of pieces of the residue from cigars, cigarettes, and bidis and the toxic cellulose acetate plastic filter butts are discarded every day, the forthcoming State Budget in Karnataka should consider levy of environmental cleanliness tax on manufacturers, distributors, sellers, etc., for defraying the expenses incurred on disposing of the cigarette and bidi butts, besides the non-bio degradable plastic pouches of gukta.
