“This is our long-term trend, we support the development of viticulture and winemaking within Russia, we give negative excise taxes on grapes in order to stimulate the development of these industries in Russia,” RIA Novosti Sazanov quotes.
Therefore, according to him, "in this regard, it would not be entirely correct to index the excise rates on them in parallel."
He noted that "in terms of tobacco, it is already a proven measure, that the higher the cost of cigarettes, the less tobacco consumption, and, accordingly, our action here is consistent with the government's policy to reduce tobacco consumption in Russia."
Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the government's proposal to increase excise rates on tobacco.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told how much a pack of cigarettes will cost after the excise tax is increased by 20%.