Taxation of tobacco in old Poland

Abstract

An article is devoted to an issue of taxation on tobacco and its derivate products in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After the first importation of tobacco to Poland, its consumption was spreading fast. At the beginning, a snuff was the most common form of a tobacco usage, in eighteen century smoking pipes became more popular. It have to be stressed that tobacco and its derivate products, were considered as medicines, which could prevent and cure every disease.

In 1643 the import duty on tobacco was imposed for the first time in Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the Crown of Poland the tobacco monopoly was established in 1659, but import duty was imposed only one time – in 1677. In the last decade of seventeenth century, the tobacco monopoly in the Commonwealth practically expired. It was renewed after 1764, during the reign of the king Stanislaw August Poniatowski. The tobacco monopoly was established again, and run by the private company, called The Snuff Campaign. In the last decade of eighteenth century, this task was took over by the public company – The Snuff Manipulation.

Generally speaking, during the whole analysed period of time, incomes from taxation of tobacco and its derivate products (especially the snuff) were relatively small.