Portuguese consumers of high-sugar drinks, beer, liqueurs and spirits may have to pay more tax in 2018.
This emerges from the draft of the 2018 State Budget, according to news agency Lusa. The proposal is to increase the tax payable on soft drinks by up to 1.5%, and to define new tax rates based on sugar content.
A tax on high sugar beverages was introduced in February, and Portugal’s Ministry of Health calculated that this has reduced soft drink sales by 25%.
Drinks Tax
Taxes on beer, spirits and liqueur wines are also reported to be increasing by 1.5% in 2018, on top of this year’s increase of 3%. This proposal has been negatively received by Portugal's drinks sector.
Francisco Gírio, secretary general of the Portuguese Association of Beer Producers (APCV), told Jornal de Negocios that the increase in the beer and spirits tax is "inadmissible".
He added that this would have a negative effect on the brewing sector, which contributes €250 million to Portuguese exports annually, and is responsible for 70,000 direct and indirect jobs.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
