Turkish smokers hit by tax increase

Turkey has raised taxes on tobacco products, new passenger cars, alcoholic drinks and mobile telephones, according to a Reuters story quoting an announcement in the country’s Official Gazette on Wednesday.

Under the new arrangements, the minimum tax on a pack of cigarettes was lifted to 3.75 lira from 3.22 lira.

The brief announcement of the tax increases did not explain why they had been brought in or how much new revenue they were expected to generate.

But Reuters said the central bank was struggling to curb inflation, which was thought to have ended the year at about seven per cent, and support the lira, which lost 17 per cent of its value against the US dollar last year.