Complaint filed over use of tobacco-goods surcharge
A smokers’ rights group yesterday filed a complaint with Taiwan’s Control Yuan, urging the watchdog organization to look into recent allegations that the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) had misused the health and welfare surcharge on tobacco products, according to a story in the Taipei Times.(Wikipedia describes the Control Yuan as being one of five branches of Taiwan’s government; specifically an investigatory agency that monitors the other branches of government.)
The Taiwan Smokers’ Rights Promotion Association (TSRPA) made the move about a week after several Taiwan Solidarity Union legislators accused the administration of having allowed different government agencies to use 30 percent of the surcharge revenue, which amounts to nearly NT$30 billion (US$949 million) a year, on unrelated matters.
“The administration has dismissed the allegations by claiming that there is nothing illegal about the matter,” said TSRPA director-general Chen Chi-an during a press conference in front of the Control Yuan. “It has also threatened to take legal action against whoever reports, shares or comments on such unfounded rumors.”
Chen said the agency’s “condescending response” had prompted the association to lodge the complaint against the HPA director-general Chiou Shu-ti on three grounds: dereliction of duty; benefiting specific individuals and political parties; and inadequate implementation of government policies.
The association urged the Control Yuan also to investigate appropriations of the tobacco surcharge’s revenue over the past few years.
The story said that Chiou could not be reached for comments as of press time but added that at a separate event earlier in the day she had said that the Tobacco Control Act stipulated that the surcharge on tobacco sales should be reviewed and adjusted every two years, but that six years had passed since the last increase in the levy.
“There are three major obstacles standing in the way of another increase: corporations, corporations and corporations,” Chiou was quoted as saying.
She said her agency’s plans were to raise the surcharge and sales tax on cigarettes by NT$20 and NT$5 per pack respectively in the near future, a plan that she said could reduce the nation’s smoking rate by 20.8 percent, prompt 740,000 smokers to quit and create a long-term benefit of about NT$296 billion to society.