Finnish ALCOHOL TAXATION

From Timo Stewart: The Finnish state receives around EUR 7 billion annually from all alcohol taxation. To put that in perspective, the state’s total annual tax revenue is approx. EUR 30 billion and total revenue is approx. EUR 35 billion. It sounds incredible, eh! (I hope I got my facts straight…)

All alcoholic beverages get double taxed. That is, they are subject to 18% VAT and then the alcohol tax on top of that. The alcohol tax is: 64% for spirits, 29% for wines and 35% for beer. So for example, if you buy a bottle of vodka costing 22.20 euros, 18.13 euros of that sum will be tax (18% + 64% = 82%). The left over 4.07 euros is production + other costs and Alko’s profit!