| The tobacco and liquor industry is an agricultural produce processing industry, and therefore the governments of different nations have introduced special laws to govern production and sales of tobacco and liquor products in a bid to score more tax revenues For decades, Taiwan has enforced a tobacco and liquor monopoly system, not only securing handsome tax incomes but also effectively forestalling illegal production and sales of such products.
Since Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002, the government has scrapped the tobacco and wine monopoly system, enforced a new tobacco and wine taxation system, and fully opened Taiwan's tobacco and wine markets. On July 1, 2002, the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau was converted into a corporate body and named Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp. (TTL), and private wine brewing companies have sprouted ever since, leading to keener competition in the domestic markets for tobacco and liquor products. |
