Tax stamps have been around since the late 17th century and were originally embossed or impressed on products or documents. Today, they have evolved from simple adhesive labels into sophisticated tools that play a crucial role in revenue protection and tax compliance.

While we are used to seeing informative and dynamic presentations of banknote designs and security features on central bank websites, imagine our surprise when we came across a presentation of tobacco authentication labels on the Swedish Public Health Agency site!

Following the UK’s decision to introduce a new excise duty on vaping products in 2026, the government has announced it will be implementing tax stamps on vapes, to accompany this new duty. At the same time, it has advised that a track and trace system will not be introduced on vapes, even though such a system is applied to traditional tobacco products in the UK.

Between January and August this year, Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) collected GMD 48,470,427.78 ($702,000) in excise duties, compared to just GMD 6,312,608.78 ($91,000) the previous year. This significant increase represents more than 800% of the country’s total excise revenue mobilisation.

In a recent website article, the Peter G Peterson Foundation, a US nonprofit organisation for building a sustainable fiscal path, took a look at excise taxes in the US and how they fit into the federal budget.

Recently, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Tabaconomía, a tobacco control think-tank that is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies, held a webinar to discuss the status of tobacco taxation post-COVID-19.

As a large number of Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ readers are already aware, tobacco and alcohol producers spend significant amounts of time and effort lobbying against the installation of tax stamp and traceability systems that are fully managed by national revenue authorities.

At its recent conference held in April, the US Tax Foundation, which is the nation’s leading independent body on tax policy, presented research on some of the most pressing issues in global taxation, including global minimum tax, carbon tax, and excise tax.

Every year, on 24 February, India observes Central Excise Day, as a way of highlighting the essential role of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in the country’s industrial development.

Kenyans could soon pay more for alcohol, cigarettes, juice and cosmetic products as the Kenya Revenue Authority seeks to increase the price of excise tax stamps (which are used on all of these product groups), as part of its measures to increase revenue collection.