Will the increase in excise tax on alcohol affect the president? PiS and Konfederacja against

On Friday, the Sejm held the first reading of the bill increasing excise duty on alcohol. The project received the support of the coalition clubs, but the PiS and Konfederacja clubs were against it.

The first reading of the draft amendment to the Excise Duty Act took place on Friday. The project assumes an increase in the scale of excise tax increases on alcohol next year. Currently, the act provides for increases in this tax by 5%. in 2026 and by 5 percent in 2027. The project adopted by the government includes a proposal to increase the excise tax rate in 2026 by 15% and in 2027 – by 10%.

– There is no doubt that increasing the excise tax on alcohol will result in a decline in its consumption. These changes are needed because Poles' incomes have increased significantly in recent years. (…) Disposable income has increased by approximately 40 percent and alcohol prices have gone much, much lower. An average salary (…) can buy more alcohol. In the case of an average salary, 5 years ago you could buy 200 bottles of vodka, and last year 240 bottles of vodka – said Deputy Minister of Finance Jarosław Neneman in the Sejm.

He added that the excise tax increases proposed by the government change the so-called roadmap for increasing this tax. He said the road map was “a good idea, but it did not take into account the huge inflation and the huge increase in incomes.”

– After the increase in rates, the excise tax on a bottle of wine will increase by 30 groszy, in the case of beer it will be approximately 13 groszy, and in the case of a bottle of vodka – 40%. – it will be approximately PLN 3. This change, compared to the situation when we do nothing, will generate an additional PLN 1.8 billion in the first year and PLN 2.8 billion in two years, said Neneman.

Janusz Kowalski (PiS), acting as deputy minister, submitted a motion to reject the bill in the first reading. He argued this, among others: the fact that the increase will make the situation of Polish producers more difficult, because currently the excise tax on beer in Poland is – as he said – “three times higher than in Germany and twice as high as in the Czech Republic.” MP Witold Tumanowicz (Confederation) also spoke against the project. He appealed to the president to “have the courage to persevere in his decisions and veto this bill.”

MP Magdalena Łośko (KO) supported the project on behalf of her club, as did MP Wioleta Tomczak (Polska2050); both MPs pointed out, among others, on social costs related to alcohol abuse.

The vote on the motion to reject the bill will take place at the next session of the Sejm. (PAP)

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