Demand for effective revenue protection to meet global threats will drive growth for tax stamps in 2017, says the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA).
The trade body believes that the tax stamp market will continue to grow over the next 12 months, particularly in emerging economies that lose to the black market and organised smuggling. ITSA believes economic difficulties will make it even more important to increase tax income through rate rises and shutting down the fraud gap in tobacco, alcohol and other products.
Chair of ITSA Juan Yañez, pictured, said: “2017 promises to be an exciting year for all of us involved in helping governments secure their tax receipts. Economic and security challenges will mean that it will be more important than ever to help authorities maximise tax collection as diversification and new taxes on products, such as sugar, become prevalent.
“We will also see a potential succession of new Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Protocol ratifications driving activity in the tobacco tax stamp sector next year, which will lead to growing interest in such schemes in other sectors. 2017 will also see the important EU decision on the architecture of its tobacco track and trace system. We hope Europe will do so in an ambitious way, which sets an example to other regions and tackles the problem at its roots.”
ITSA believes that robust tobacco protection must combine material and digital security technologies – a view that is recognised by both the WHO FCTC and the EU Tobacco Products Directive, it adds.
“This union of physical and digital features is essential to ensure that the combined objectives of authentication, traceability and tamper-evidence is achieved – which is something that information technologies alone are not able to do,” said Juan Yañez.
Elsewhere, illicit or toxic alcohol leads to deaths; while costing governments millions of dollars in medical treatment and lost tax revenue. As well as providing visible proof of tax payment and revenue collection, increased usage of tax stamps on liquor bottles will help identify illicit goods for seizing and destruction.
The year 2017 will also see the introduction of a new international tax stamp standard (ISO 19998), supported by ITSA. While some countries or regional states have stamps for collecting tax, large parts of the world possess little or indeed no tax stamp programmes. Hence ISO 19998 for the specification of tax stamps – one that would bring all countries using stamps, and encourage those not using them, to have programmes. ITSA also expects to see digital developments in 2017.
