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EU to make beer 30% more expensive
Beer tax to be uniform EU-wide
NO!
I can't read that Germish article, but I don't like the sounds of this.
I can't read that Germish article, but I don't like the sounds of this.
read the article, and it will not affect all beer. However, the beer (weissbier) in Munich is likely to rise in price.
Now lets see if Tabacco tax will be standardised too...
Now lets see if Tabacco tax will be standardised too...
Nooooooooooooooooooooo
Bugger whatever tax is paid in other countries ! This is The Free State Of Bavaria ffs
Bugger whatever tax is paid in other countries ! This is The Free State Of Bavaria ffs
Strange, Cause a little searching turns up this story.
Also blame the Scandinavian countries for the increased tax, as they were the ones pushing the EU for it.
QUOTE
The German government is prepared to fight any efforts by the European Union to boost the cost of beer. European Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein wants to equalize taxes on beer and wine across the 15-member bloc. By "harmonizing" prices, the EU hopes to reduce smuggling and fraud.
In Germany, the proposal would involve raising the beer tax by an estimated 30 euro cents ($0.29) on each case. It would also mean introducing a duty on wine, which is currently not imposed in Germany.
"There will be no increase in beer tax with us," said a spokesman for Finance Minister Hans Eichel.
In order to change beer and wine tax laws, the EU would have to revamp its alcohol tax rate regulations. Such a resolution requires the unanimous agreement of all 15 member states. And Brussels cannot count on Germany in this case. "We will reject the proposal," Eichel's spokesman said.
The German Brewers' Association (DBB) praised the position. "Anyone who demands an increase in beer tax of almost 25 percent in light of the German brewing industry's current situation (slumping sales) is completely misjudging reality," DBB director Peter Hahn said in a statement.
The EU stipulates minimum tax rates for certain alcoholic beverages, as well as tobacco and oil products. In Germany, the beer tax is at the lower end of the scale, only Spain taxes beer less. Danish beer drinkers pay the highest taxes on their beverage of choice within the EU.
In Germany, the proposal would involve raising the beer tax by an estimated 30 euro cents ($0.29) on each case. It would also mean introducing a duty on wine, which is currently not imposed in Germany.
"There will be no increase in beer tax with us," said a spokesman for Finance Minister Hans Eichel.
In order to change beer and wine tax laws, the EU would have to revamp its alcohol tax rate regulations. Such a resolution requires the unanimous agreement of all 15 member states. And Brussels cannot count on Germany in this case. "We will reject the proposal," Eichel's spokesman said.
The German Brewers' Association (DBB) praised the position. "Anyone who demands an increase in beer tax of almost 25 percent in light of the German brewing industry's current situation (slumping sales) is completely misjudging reality," DBB director Peter Hahn said in a statement.
The EU stipulates minimum tax rates for certain alcoholic beverages, as well as tobacco and oil products. In Germany, the beer tax is at the lower end of the scale, only Spain taxes beer less. Danish beer drinkers pay the highest taxes on their beverage of choice within the EU.
Also blame the Scandinavian countries for the increased tax, as they were the ones pushing the EU for it.
well, if darkknight's quote is correct, that's 1.5cents per bottle. i think i can handle that.
But the Finance Minister is now Peer Steinbrueck...
QUOTE
"There will be no increase in beer tax with us," said a spokesman for Finance Minister Hans Eichel.
O'hell.. Things are gonna get nasty now...
But I'm sure the beer brewers will pitch a fit and this tax will be killed off yet again.
Besides, who said harmonizing prices, has to always mean in increase. Why not Avg. up the tax prices
in the member states and go a little lower.. I think the UK,NO,FI,SK,DK will say no so they can continue to charge
their high prices, thus pissing off the rest of the EU countries and their citizens.
So lets Recap shall we...
Unemployment figures for the EU are increasing.
Social systems are falling apart.
People are getting paid less
People are being forced to work more (Germans new 40hr work week)
Job protection is being lost
New taxes are being added, old taxes increased (German 19% VAT in 2007, along with higher GEZ and new computer tax to name just 2)
So end the end things are going downhill fast, and all the Govts. can think about is raising taxes..
Does anybody else think somethink is wrong here?
But I'm sure the beer brewers will pitch a fit and this tax will be killed off yet again.
Besides, who said harmonizing prices, has to always mean in increase. Why not Avg. up the tax prices
in the member states and go a little lower.. I think the UK,NO,FI,SK,DK will say no so they can continue to charge
their high prices, thus pissing off the rest of the EU countries and their citizens.
So lets Recap shall we...
Unemployment figures for the EU are increasing.
Social systems are falling apart.
People are getting paid less
People are being forced to work more (Germans new 40hr work week)
Job protection is being lost
New taxes are being added, old taxes increased (German 19% VAT in 2007, along with higher GEZ and new computer tax to name just 2)
So end the end things are going downhill fast, and all the Govts. can think about is raising taxes..
Does anybody else think somethink is wrong here?
QUOTE
Kleinere Brauereien zahlen also weniger Biersteuer als große. „Wenn die neue Biersteuer kommt, wird sich das auf den Verbraucher niederschlagen“, prophezeit Möller.
ok what i get from this paragraph is that the small breweries pay less tax that then bigger breweries. if the new beer tax comes it would discourage the consumer. am i totally misreading this? is the new beer tax effecting the small breweries less or is that just the old beer tax?
My understanding is that the existing duty laws mean that smaller breweries pay less tax per hectolitre than larger breweries. This is also the case in the UK, where Progressive Beer Duty represents the best chance for local breweries to survive the onslaught from the multinational piss providers. Presumably, the new tax will come in across the board.
However, all articles concerning proposed EU legislation need to be taken with a large pinch of salt. Mix some over-zealous Eurocrats with some anti-EU journalists and there's a recipe for disinformation. See for example this Toytown thread about Bavarian waitresses no longer being allowed to wear low-cut tops, something which, needless to say, never happened:
EU ban on low-cut dresses for Bavarian waitresses, Sunburn protection law for workers
It was also the Süddeutsche that started that story off. This is not to say that the EU doesn't come up with some rubbish proposals, but rather that most of them never make it into law. In this case, 30 cents per case/crate does not translate into particularly large increases.
There's English-language information regarding this topic here:
Beer spat brewing in EU
However, all articles concerning proposed EU legislation need to be taken with a large pinch of salt. Mix some over-zealous Eurocrats with some anti-EU journalists and there's a recipe for disinformation. See for example this Toytown thread about Bavarian waitresses no longer being allowed to wear low-cut tops, something which, needless to say, never happened:
EU ban on low-cut dresses for Bavarian waitresses, Sunburn protection law for workers
It was also the Süddeutsche that started that story off. This is not to say that the EU doesn't come up with some rubbish proposals, but rather that most of them never make it into law. In this case, 30 cents per case/crate does not translate into particularly large increases.
There's English-language information regarding this topic here:
Beer spat brewing in EU
how about an eu wide grant system for very small breweries. Something to preserve culture and tradition. something that might end up forcing you to drink beer at 18 crowns a pint before the presents come.
Taxation matters are still the responsibility of national governments. As a quote from Darknight says, you would need the unanimous votes of all 15 (now 25) states to pass this. The Germans will surely vote against it. Also harmonisation would also not mean that the tax rate is brought in line with the highest rate (as also already pointed out), but rather some compromise rate below that. So high taxing countries would have something to lose and would also vote against this.
There are always crazy Eurocrats looking to harmonise everything either cause they're Euro-zealots, they've nothing better to do, or they're trying to distract attention from some other mess they made. This nearly always gets voted down at the end of the day.
There are always crazy Eurocrats looking to harmonise everything either cause they're Euro-zealots, they've nothing better to do, or they're trying to distract attention from some other mess they made. This nearly always gets voted down at the end of the day.
This is some good info. I didn´t know about the subsidies for smaller breweries (under 200,000 hl). Even without the subsidies though, the tax isn´t that high. It´s .787€ per hl degree Stammwürze. This translates to about 5 cents per .05l bottle of normal beer. If a brewery qualifies for the max subsidy, then it translates to about 2.6 cents per .05l bottle of normal beer. So even with a 30% increase (i.e. 1.02€ per hl degree Stammwürze), it would only be an increase of about 1.5 cents per bottle...Don´t get me wrong though, I´m not for more taxation! Instead of us "raising the bar" to everyone elses tax standards...how about lowering everyone else´s to the current German beer tax standards!
thats all far too complicted to read ,never mind understand, but as im going back to uk , i couldnt care less, you just gotta pay to play , or drink as the thread is about booze
Huh?
Is the UK not in the EU? I think someone should tell the Daily Mail.
Is the UK not in the EU? I think someone should tell the Daily Mail.
It might be easier to understand if the amounts were correct! A standard bottle of beer is 0.5L, not 0.05L, even the Dutch sell it in bigger measures than that!
Oops I meant .5 L bottle. Which incidentally, I´ve noticed more and more of the smaller 0.33L bottles about which go about for the same price. Yet another hidden increase...
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