A new report from the Irish Wine Association claims that higher wine excise has led to an 8% drop in volume sales. With Ireland’s wine taxes now the highest in Europe, the group, which represents wine importers and distributors across the country, called for a reversal of last year's increases in excise.
According to the Annual Wine Market Review 2013, excise increases have meant distributors and importers are spending an extra €17,958 in taxes on every 1,000 cases, creating massive cash-flow issues for SMEs. What is more, wine sales volumes were down 8.2% in 2013, to 8.2 million cases.
Commenting on the report, Michael Foley, Chairman of the Irish Wine Association and Sales/Marketing Director for Findlater Wine and Spirits said, "The last number of years have been extremely challenging for Ireland’s wine industry. Penal excise increases of 62% over the last two Budgets have pushed the industry to the brink. As well as being a tax on hard-pressed consumers, these increases have put a huge strain on the thousands of small businesses across Ireland that sell wine”.
He continued, “The message coming from the industry is clear: reverse excise increases and support thousands of small businesses and jobs across the industry”.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Nathan Evans.
