Russia plans sharp tariff hike on alcohol from ‘unfriendly’ states

Filed 2h ago · Via NV · The Buffoon Desk

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Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Jaed malek BD · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Russian authorities are considering raising import duties on beer and spirits from countries it labels 'unfriendly' to as much as 5 euros per liter, according to the Moscow Times, part of a three-year budget plan that could bring in 10 billion rubles annually starting in 2027.

Beer tariffs already jumped from 0.1 to 1.5 euros per liter over the past two years, pushing some suppliers to reroute shipments through Belarus and Kazakhstan to dodge the higher costs.

Meanwhile domestic vodka prices have climbed nearly 15% year over year, and the overall Russian alcohol market shrank 1.2% in the twelve months through April, even as no final decision on the new spirits duty has been made.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Slap a tariff on the foreign stuff and call it patriotism, then watch your own vodka get pricier anyway. That is the trick with import taxes dressed up as principle: the bill always finds its way to the fellow at the counter, not the fellow who signed the order. Rerouting booze through Belarus to dodge a sticker price is not exactly a triumph of self-reliance, it is just a longer truck route.

Source: Read the original at NV → Scored: Hyperfun · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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