Plans for a 10% tax on chewing gum in Ireland to help fund the bill for cleaning discarded gum from streets have been dropped following lobbying by the manufacturers led by Wrigley.
Instead, suppliers are to make a €2m annual contribution towards an education, research and prevention programme, including extra bins and greater anti-litter enforcement.
The US ambassador to
Ireland, James Kenny, lobbied on behalf of Wrigley against the original plan for a 10% tax on chewing gum packs, which would have raised up to €5m a year. The industry feared that a chewing gum tax, if introduced in Ireland, would be quickly copied by other countries - as has happened, for instance, with the smoking ban.
Instead, suppliers are to make a €2m annual contribution towards an education, research and prevention programme, including extra bins and greater anti-litter enforcement.
The US ambassador to
Ireland, James Kenny, lobbied on behalf of Wrigley against the original plan for a 10% tax on chewing gum packs, which would have raised up to €5m a year. The industry feared that a chewing gum tax, if introduced in Ireland, would be quickly copied by other countries - as has happened, for instance, with the smoking ban.
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