Madam, - Your edition of May 27th stated that our excise duty on spirits was the third highest in the 25 EU states after Finland and Sweden. In fact, Finish rates were reduced by 44 per cent on March 1st and a similar reduction is expected in Swedish rates, leaving Ireland top of the EU league for spirits excise. This is surprising, given our interest in tourism and a strong national distilling industry.
The tax position on spirits here was greatly worsened by the 42 per cent increase in excise duty in the December 2002 budget to €10.99 per standard bottle of spirits and €15 a bottle including VAT. This comes at a time when other high-duty countries have been reducing excise and thus moving towards convergence of EU excise rates. This has led to a very significant increase in the purchase of spirits outside of Ireland, for local consumption - hardly a winning formula for Government, the industry or consumers. - Yours, etc.,
D.J. DILLON,
Director,
Wine & Spirit
Association of Ireland,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.