Might Brexit mean lower cheaper alcohol in the Rep of Ireland? It will if the drinks industry gets its way. That's because the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland lobby group (which represents drinks suppliers, pubs, hotels, independent off-licences and restaurants) is calling for a 15 per cent reduction in excise on alcohol in the next budget, and its pointing to Brexit as a reason why
According to DIGI, excise is a direct tax on tourism.
In 2015, Ireland received 3.5m visitors from the British Market, generating just over €1bn in tourism revenue. In the first quarter of 2016, spend associated with visits from Britain grew by over 18%.
Budget 2017 should make every possible effort to compensate for the negative effect of Brexit, such as exchange rate uncertainty, impacts of a new “border” and the impacts that Brexit might have on British tourists and their spend in Ireland, DIGI says.
DIGI is calling on the Government to reduce direct tourism taxes such as excise, to ensure the survival of Irish pubs and the positive effects they have on tourism in Ireland.
DIGI notes that Brexit has caused Sterling to decline significantly and this is likely to continue for some time. The lower value of Sterling is an immediate boost to cross-border purchasing of alcohol.
Alcohol tax is a regressive and inequitable tax and ours is very high by EU standards, DIGI says. "We believe that the particularly high Irish excise tax is detrimental to economic growth and economic activity. We would urge the Government to reduce excise by 15% in October’s Budget.”
