site.btaBulgaria's Cigarette Excise Tax Lowest in EU in 2024

Bulgaria registered the lowest cigarette excise tax (EUR 1.92/USD 2.08) per pack of 20 cigarettes in the EU in 2024, international research think tank Tax Foundation reported on Tuesday. According to the data, cigarette smokers in the European Union pay far more in excise taxes than they do for the cigarettes themselves.

In 2024, the average EU Member State levied cigarette excise taxes that exceeded 80% of the retail sales price. This means the taxes increased consumers’ average prices by more than 450%.

The highest tax in the EU is levied in Ireland at EUR 9.92 (USD 10.72) per pack of 20 cigarettes, followed by the Netherlands at EUR 7.66 (USD 8.28) and France at EUR 7.45 (USD 8.05).

The next lowest taxes after Bulgaria are imposed in Poland and Croatia at EUR 2.33 (USD 2.52) and EUR 2.52 (USD 2.72), respectively.

The EU Tobacco Tax Directive requires all Member States to levy a minimum excise tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. EU countries levy a specific ad quantum cigarette tax (a fixed amount per pack of cigarettes) and an ad valorem excise tax (an additional percentage of the retail sales price).

The current minimum cigarette excise rates in the EU are EUR 1.80 (USD 1.95) per 20-cigarette pack, and the minimum total excise duty is at least 60% of the national weighted average retail price, where the minimums have remained since 2014. Member States that levy a higher specific rate of at least EUR 2.30 per pack do not need to meet the 60% requirement. The two excise taxes are levied before adding the broadly applied value-added taxes (VATs).

The EU Directive only establishes minimum rates, but all countries levy higher rates.

The excise taxes are levied in addition to VATs applied to cigarettes. Considering the total taxes, the average tax share of 2023 weighted average retail prices in EU countries ranges from 67.5% in Germany to 110% in the Netherlands. The data are calculated and published by the European Commission using weighted average prices (WAP) from the previous year, pursuant to Article 8 (Subsection 2) of the Tobacco Tax Directive. Taxes as a percentage of WAP are less than 100% for all countries for which there is data using same-year average retail prices.