Oli4#1 · 2006-11-03 12:14
Germans, Czechs unite to combat EU beer tax rise
By Louis Charbonneau
BERLIN, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The finance ministers of the
beer-drinking nations of Germany and the Czech Republic
announced on Friday they would join forces to block the European Commission\'s plans to raise minimum duties on beer.
\"The position of the German government is that we will not
approve it. We don\'t want any increase in beer duties. We don\'t want beer to become more expensive,\" German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck told reporters after a meeting with his Czech counterpart.
\"Given that they have such excellent pilsner beer it is
perhaps understandable that the Czechs have the same position as Germany,\" he added.
Last month the European Union\'s executive arm proposed a 31
percent increase in the minimum EU duty on beer and spirits to reflect inflation since the tax was last set 14 years ago.
The rise, which needs the unanimous approval of the EU\'s 25
member states, would add a euro cent (about 1.3 U.S. cents) to the price of a half litre of beer.
Czech Finance Minister Vlastimil Tlusty said Prague was
prepared to veto the alcohol duty rise. He also rejected the
argument that the Commission\'s move was necessary to combat
alcoholism across the EU.
\"This argument would be true if the proposal had been to
raise consumption tax on all alcoholic beverages. But since it doesn\'t cover wine, this argument doesn\'t hold up,\" Tlusty said.
\"In fact, I would go so far as to say that the point of this
proposal is to give wine a favourable market position and that is precisely what we don\'t support,\" he said.
Tlusty said he and Steinbrueck would express their views at
next week\'s regular meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.
Czechs are the world\'s top consumers of beer, drinking
nearly 160 litres per person per year. The countries with next highest beer consumption are Ireland and Germany.
Germany, a country of 82.4 million, is also the world\'s
third largest beer producer after the United States and China.
Europe\'s brewing industry employs 2.6 million people
directly or indirectly in 3,000 breweries. Over a third of the breweries are in Germany, where they already face a 3 percentage point rise in value-added sales tax (VAT) from next year.
By Louis Charbonneau
BERLIN, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The finance ministers of the
beer-drinking nations of Germany and the Czech Republic
announced on Friday they would join forces to block the European Commission\'s plans to raise minimum duties on beer.
\"The position of the German government is that we will not
approve it. We don\'t want any increase in beer duties. We don\'t want beer to become more expensive,\" German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck told reporters after a meeting with his Czech counterpart.
\"Given that they have such excellent pilsner beer it is
perhaps understandable that the Czechs have the same position as Germany,\" he added.
Last month the European Union\'s executive arm proposed a 31
percent increase in the minimum EU duty on beer and spirits to reflect inflation since the tax was last set 14 years ago.
The rise, which needs the unanimous approval of the EU\'s 25
member states, would add a euro cent (about 1.3 U.S. cents) to the price of a half litre of beer.
Czech Finance Minister Vlastimil Tlusty said Prague was
prepared to veto the alcohol duty rise. He also rejected the
argument that the Commission\'s move was necessary to combat
alcoholism across the EU.
\"This argument would be true if the proposal had been to
raise consumption tax on all alcoholic beverages. But since it doesn\'t cover wine, this argument doesn\'t hold up,\" Tlusty said.
\"In fact, I would go so far as to say that the point of this
proposal is to give wine a favourable market position and that is precisely what we don\'t support,\" he said.
Tlusty said he and Steinbrueck would express their views at
next week\'s regular meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.
Czechs are the world\'s top consumers of beer, drinking
nearly 160 litres per person per year. The countries with next highest beer consumption are Ireland and Germany.
Germany, a country of 82.4 million, is also the world\'s
third largest beer producer after the United States and China.
Europe\'s brewing industry employs 2.6 million people
directly or indirectly in 3,000 breweries. Over a third of the breweries are in Germany, where they already face a 3 percentage point rise in value-added sales tax (VAT) from next year.