Fun seekers in Nigeria may have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for alcohol and tobacco as a new tax regime on those products kick off today.
According to the Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun, the increase in excise duty is to generate more revenue of the country as well as to ‘reduce the health hazards associated with tobacco-related diseases and alcohol abuse among Nigerians’.
The new excise duty will see beer and stout attract 0.30k per centilitre (Cl) in 2018 and 0.35k per Cl each in 2019 and 2020. Wines: N1.25k per Cl in 2018 and N1.50k per Cl each in 2019 and 2020, spirits: N1.50k in 2018, N1.75k per Cl in 2019 and N2 per Cl in 2020.
Similarly, cigarettes will now retail at 40 naira higher than the current costs.
However, Nigerians have not kicked against this recent increase as they usually do when essential commodities like fuel experience an upward change in price. It is left to see how bars and nightclub react to the new development.