Brewers claim increased excise duties will reduce Treasury revenues

Excise duties on beer, wine and petrol will be raised for the second time this year, by 10% in the case of beer and wine, and 6% on petrol. According to the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, this will result in a price increase of over zl.0.1 for a bottle of beer, and wine will be 2% or 3% more expensive. At the same time, the price of E95 liquid fuel will jump by zl.0.06 per liter. Beer producers are naturally unimpressed by the news, with an industry spokesman saying the move will actually result in lower sales of beer and consequently reduced revenue for the Treasury, which might have earned more if it had not chosen the start of the summer season to increase the excise duty. Half of all the beer produced by Poland's breweries is sold in summer. Certain beer producers are believed to be considering an appeal to the Constitutional Tribunal, asking it to look into the Treasury decision. (Gazeta Wyborcza p.18) J.K.