To be honest, I am devastated by the increase. Independent research published last year showed that tobacco smuggling costs small independent shopkeepers more than £50,000 a year on average in lost trade.This is going to make the situation a whole lot worse for people like myself who going to face another decrease in turnover as a result.
What I don't understand is the Chancellor's insistence that cigarette smoking is reduced through higher taxes. That's just a lot of nonsense because smokers will just go elsewhere for their cigarettes. It's not difficult to do.
We are faced with two scenarios. Smokers will either buy smuggled goods, which are cheaper because there is no duty attached, or they will legitimately buy cigarettes abroad. And by the way let's say your friend buys some cigarettes. Most people don't perceive this as a crime but it is. The law only allows you to buy for personal consumption.
I do not believe that a government that calls itself responsible and has such a strong line on crime is letting the situation deteriorate like this. It is basically creating an incentive for smugglers.
Just last month, a gang was caught having evaded about £4m in duty in Herne Bay, the next town along the coast from Tankerton, near Whitstable, where my shop is based. They had smuggled 32 tonnes through Dover and netted £16m over the past 10 years.
It's no joke but these are our direct competitors at the moment.
The government says we only lose about £20,000 a year in revenue as a result of smuggling. Most small independents like me would strongly disagree. And there's another problem. Say I lose £50,000 this year. Is that £50,000 less than last year? That's £100,000. The loss is compound.
The Tobacco Alliance is about to publish research showing that 77% of shopkeepers have lost money as a result of smuggled tobacco. And 33% of retailers have considered getting rid of staff to compensate for the fall-off in sales.
In one half-mile stretch in Tankerton, I can think of three tobacconists that have closed up shop and I know two in Whitstable that have gone under. I've only managed to keep going because my business has other strings to its bow that support the retail front.
This government has done nothing for small businesses like mine. We've also got that new national insurance charge which is just another back door way of getting taxes. And we didn't get the tax relief on security equipment we've been asking for.
What's particularly galling about the tobacco duty hike, though, is that Gordon Brown froze the duty on spirits, basically conceding that smuggling has caused harm to the drinks industry. Why didn't he do the same for tobacco?
I really thought we might get a better result. A fortnight ago, I went to see John Healey, the economic secretary to the Treasury. I said I wanted a pound a packet off to take away the incentive to smugglers. Of course, I didn't expect that to happen, but he was responsive.
Deep in my heart, I'd have been happy if he had frozen the duty, like Denmark did last year. We are now so out of step with the rest of Europe the whole world really the Treasury should be paying us compensation.
It is not as if this hasn't been on the cards for years. In 1991, I started warning the government about what would happen if it didn't do something about the tax disparity. It was not until 1996 or 1997 that the government finally began to realise it was losing money. Then, two or three years ago it ended up pumping millions into Customs and Excise to fight a crime it had started.
Now we're faced with counterfeit cigarettes coming in from the Far East. I almost wish people did go and buy smuggled cigarettes.At least when the level of consumption of smuggled cigarettes gets to 50% or 60%, the government will be forced to do something.
But for now, I don't know what to do to get government to listen. I can compete with Tesco, Sainsbury and all those people, but not with a smuggler.
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What I don't understand is the Chancellor's insistence that cigarette smoking is reduced through higher taxes. That's just a lot of nonsense because smokers will just go elsewhere for their cigarettes. It's not difficult to do.
We are faced with two scenarios. Smokers will either buy smuggled goods, which are cheaper because there is no duty attached, or they will legitimately buy cigarettes abroad. And by the way let's say your friend buys some cigarettes. Most people don't perceive this as a crime but it is. The law only allows you to buy for personal consumption.
I do not believe that a government that calls itself responsible and has such a strong line on crime is letting the situation deteriorate like this. It is basically creating an incentive for smugglers.
Just last month, a gang was caught having evaded about £4m in duty in Herne Bay, the next town along the coast from Tankerton, near Whitstable, where my shop is based. They had smuggled 32 tonnes through Dover and netted £16m over the past 10 years.
It's no joke but these are our direct competitors at the moment.
The government says we only lose about £20,000 a year in revenue as a result of smuggling. Most small independents like me would strongly disagree. And there's another problem. Say I lose £50,000 this year. Is that £50,000 less than last year? That's £100,000. The loss is compound.
The Tobacco Alliance is about to publish research showing that 77% of shopkeepers have lost money as a result of smuggled tobacco. And 33% of retailers have considered getting rid of staff to compensate for the fall-off in sales.
In one half-mile stretch in Tankerton, I can think of three tobacconists that have closed up shop and I know two in Whitstable that have gone under. I've only managed to keep going because my business has other strings to its bow that support the retail front.
This government has done nothing for small businesses like mine. We've also got that new national insurance charge which is just another back door way of getting taxes. And we didn't get the tax relief on security equipment we've been asking for.
What's particularly galling about the tobacco duty hike, though, is that Gordon Brown froze the duty on spirits, basically conceding that smuggling has caused harm to the drinks industry. Why didn't he do the same for tobacco?
I really thought we might get a better result. A fortnight ago, I went to see John Healey, the economic secretary to the Treasury. I said I wanted a pound a packet off to take away the incentive to smugglers. Of course, I didn't expect that to happen, but he was responsive.
Deep in my heart, I'd have been happy if he had frozen the duty, like Denmark did last year. We are now so out of step with the rest of Europe the whole world really the Treasury should be paying us compensation.
It is not as if this hasn't been on the cards for years. In 1991, I started warning the government about what would happen if it didn't do something about the tax disparity. It was not until 1996 or 1997 that the government finally began to realise it was losing money. Then, two or three years ago it ended up pumping millions into Customs and Excise to fight a crime it had started.
Now we're faced with counterfeit cigarettes coming in from the Far East. I almost wish people did go and buy smuggled cigarettes.At least when the level of consumption of smuggled cigarettes gets to 50% or 60%, the government will be forced to do something.
But for now, I don't know what to do to get government to listen. I can compete with Tesco, Sainsbury and all those people, but not with a smuggler.
{{COMMENT - GUEST }}
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