The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) has said that the drinks and hospitality sector is among the most exposed to Brexit and as a result of today’s Budget and that the industry and consumers are now facing more costs rather than less.
Failure to reduce alcohol excise tax and increasing the VAT rate restricts growth and trade in the face of Brexit the the umbrella organisation for the wider drinks industry in Ireland said in a statement.
“DIGI is disappointed by the Government’s decision not to reduce excise tax on alcohol while simultaneously increasing the VAT rate to 13.5%," a spokesperson for DIGI said in a statement.
“Ireland’s excise tax rate remains the second highest in Europe; broken down by category, we have the highest tax on wine, the second highest on beer, and the third highest on spirits."
Industry Most Exposed
“While it is encouraging to see that the Government are Brexit proofing certain sectors, Budget 19 has failed to extend this to an industry that employs over 250,000 in the drinks and tourism sector and exports almost €300 million to the UK annually," DIGI added.
“With the Brexit deadline looming and a hard Brexit looking increasingly likely, we are facing an uncertain economic period."
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
