Amid sweeping efforts by President Milei’s government to reform Argentina’s tax administration, the country’s tobacco tax stamp programme is an important step towards such reform. While the programme has helped Argentina’s tax authority reconcile production volumes with the number of products actually sold and taxes paid, there is an ongoing price disparity in the market, between manufacturers and resellers, that is ultimately resulting in less tax going to the government.

In recent years, governments have been expanding the range of goods and services they apply excise tax and regulatory controls to – not only for generating additional revenue, but also to influence consumer behaviour, address public health concerns, and support environmental and regulatory objectives.

At the recent Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™, Dr Hana Ross from the World Bank Global Tax Program shared findings from a 2020 study examining Poland’s approach to regulating the raw tobacco supply chain. The study highlighted how targeted controls helped the country significantly reduce its illicit tobacco trade.

While many tax stamp programmes in operation today are delivering significant benefits (including increased tax collections), other programmes are not so successful. Why is this?

Never a dull day in Latin America! The recent general election in Argentina saw flamboyant libertarian Javier Milei ascend to the presidency, with a promise to re-invent the Argentine economic wheel by eliminating not only the Argentina peso, but also many ministries and thousands of government employees.

Secure marking and excise taxes operate hand in glove. But excise duties usually account for a small percentage of countries’ overall tax take.

Optel Group was a welcome addition to the Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ this year as it brought a different emphasis to the table when it comes to tax stamp solution delivery. Dr Foued Barouni, Solutions Manager, presented a paper explaining how high-speed production conditions affect the way tax stamp compliance could be delivered.

According to high-security printer Royal Joh Enschedé (RJE), the humble postage stamp is undergoing a phenomenal digital transformation.

The growth of informal economic activity has become a challenge throughout the Latin American region. To address this, the Swiss-Chilean Chamber of Commerce recently held a webinar to discuss the challenges of informality (in employment, government, taxation), as well as the actions that policymakers, in the region and elsewhere, could take to halt an increasing trend resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the January issue of Tax Stamp & Traceability News™, we launched a new series on the use of tax stamps and associated track and trace systems in different regions of the world, starting with Africa. This month, we shift the focus to Asia and Australasia.