Tax system hurting drinks industry - reportDARINA DALY
Ireland has one of the most heavily taxed drinks industries in Europe, with €1 in every €3 spent on alcohol being taxed, according to a report published today. The report carried out by the industry itself also shows that the number of people employed by drinks manufacturers has fallen by 27 per cent in the last eight years and that over half of Irish pubs had sales of under €200,000 per year.
Chairman of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), Michael Patten, said Irish companies were losing out to foreign manufacturers with a 22 per cent drop in the consumption of domestically produced alcohol. In contrast, the volume of beverages produced abroad but consumed in Ireland had risen by 90 per cent since 2000.
The DIGI report also highlighted the problems of higher input costs and falling national competitiveness as well as issues of taxation as being the greatest threat to the industry, which Mr Patten said made made a compelling argument for wage restraint in the current partnership talks.
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