Irish Drinks Industry Calls For Excise Duty Reform

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-news.com, London

16 May 2017

The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) has called on the Government to cut the alcohol excise duty rate, which it says is the second highest in the EU.

Among the findings of a new report commissioned by DIGI is that Ireland imposes an overall rate that is 150 percent higher than those levied in 24 of the EU's 27 other member states. In addition, Ireland's wine excise duty is the highest in the EU, with its rate on spirits third only to Finland and Spain. The study also found that Ireland's rate of beer excise duty is 1,000 percent higher than Germany's.

DIGI Chair Maggie Timoney said: "The report shows definitively that Ireland's excise duty rates are punitive and completely out of kilter with our European peers. Ultimately, high levels of excise are a tax on a sector that contributes significantly to the Irish economy in terms of jobs and tourism, particularly in rural Ireland."

Timoney explained that the drinks industry employs 92,000 people across Ireland, while the wider hospitality sector employs around 10 percent of the Irish workforce.

She said the Government should reduce excise duty, to support investment and jobs in the domestic economy.

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