Sports clubs may get 10pc of tobacco taxes

Manama : Each cigarette smoked in Bahrain may soon contribute to supporting sports.

This will become a reality if a parliamentary proposal to allocate 10 per cent of the taxes imposed on tobacco products to support youth and sports facilities is endorsed by the House of Representatives.

Originally submitted last year by MP Ghazi Al Rahma, the proposal stipulates adding a line to Article 9 of Law 8 of the year 2009 in relation to combating smoking and the use of all tobacco products, mentioning that 10 per cent of the taxes on tobacco products should be allocated to support sports clubs and youth centres in the Kingdom.

The MP, who was the head of the council’s Youth and Sports Committee back then, justified his proposal saying, “Sports facilities require constant funding to develop the youth and sports field in Bahrain. Allocating 10pc of the taxes on tobacco products to support these facilities would contribute in enhancing this field. This percent should be pumped into the funding allocated for Youth and Sports Ministry in the annual state budget.”

The proposal was referred to the council’s Services Committee, which rejected it after discussing the matter with the related authorities.

“Supporting the youth and sports sector should be within the State Budget Law and not to disperse the resources,” committee members mentioned in a report recently issued after studying the proposal.

On their part, Youth and Sports Affairs Ministry welcomed the proposal confirming that it will contribute to developing the youth and sports sector, while Finance Ministry rejected it stating that “sufficient funds are allocated to support the sector”.

The House of Representatives will vote on the proposal in its upcoming weekly session on Tuesday.