Impose Special Taxes On Alcohol, Cigarettes, Beverages – World Bank Tells Nigerian Govt

World Bank has urged the Nigerian Government led by President Buhari to impose special Taxes on Alcohol, Cigarettes, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Infoexpert24 reports that in order to improve the primary healthcare of Nigerians, the World Bank has appealed to the Federal Government to impose special taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Shubham Chaudhuri, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria made the appeal in Abuja during the special National Council on Health meeting organized by the Federal Ministry of Health.

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According to Country Director, if Nigeria wants to improve its healthcare, it needed to tax the things that are killing the people.

Shubham Chaudhuri

He explained, “The economic rationale for taxing these products is strong if we want to save lives and make a better and healthier Nigeria.”

Chaudhuri opined that taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages would reduce their consumption and expand fiscal space for universal health coverage post-COVID-19 and their health risks.

The World Bank representative suggested that investing in a stronger health system for all would contribute to tackling rising poverty and inequality in the country.

He noted that with improved health tax increases, it would have the additional advantage of reducing future healthcare costs by curtailing the growth of non-communicable diseases that tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages cause.