Beer tax hike not as high as originally planned

Who or what reined in Belgium’s legislators? Was it political sense or successful lobbying? In any case, the beer tax hike as of 1 November 2015 will not be as high as proposals suggested in July this year.

Per degree Plato the excise will go up by 8.5 percent overall, though staggered in absolute sums according to the brewery’s output. Initially, the hikes would have been between 15 and 17 percent.

Brewers may heave a sigh of relief. Not so the producers of wines and sparkling wines, for which the excise will increase by 31 percent.