Germany, France and 14 other European Union countries want the bloc’s tobacco tax laws to be expanded to include new products such as electric cigarettes, known as vapes.
A letter to the European Commission seen by dpa on Tuesday and signed by the finance ministries of 16 EU member states called for harmonization of the EU tax on vapes.
Based on current regulations, most of these products “cannot be taxed like traditional tobacco products,” according to the letter from the 16 EU member states.
The 16 EU countries said the EU tobacco tax directive, which determines which tobacco products should be taxed and how, was outdated since the legislation was last updated in 2011.
Electric cigarettes are not covered. At the time, using a battery-powered heating device to inhale aerosol nicotine was a relatively niche market, but it has now become a much larger market.
EU countries are concerned that the various legal measures taken at national level to tax the new tobacco products, in the absence of EU-wide legislation, have distorted the bloc’s internal market
EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis confirmed at a press conference that the EU executive had received the letter and would investigate the matter.
