Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz announced that Poland 2050 will again submit a draft bill increasing excise duty on alcohol. This time, it will include a provision according to which every zloty from additional revenues will go to health care. This is a response to the veto of the president, who previously rejected a similar project.
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On Thursday, the Chancellery of the President announced that Karol Nawrocki had signed 15 bills, but vetoed three. These included a bill to increase excise duty on alcohol, as well as a bill to increase the sugar levy. The president justified his decision by pointing out that the government, instead of effectively fighting the VAT mafia, was reaching for citizens' money. According to him, if the aim of the act was really to improve public health, it would include a provision guaranteeing that additional funds would be allocated exclusively to health protection.
Read also: Karol Nawrocki's veto. See what the president blocked this time
Alcohol restriction project. “We say: I'm checking”
In her Friday post on the X platform (formerly Twitter), Pełczyńska-Nałęcz referred to the president's decision, announcing that Poland 2050 would resubmit the draft bill, including the missing provision. “Mr. President, we say 'I'm checking'. If the reason for the veto to increase the alcohol excise tax was actually the lack of a guarantee that the money would go to health care, and not someone's 'emphatic request', then we are changing it.” – noted the deputy head of Poland 2050. At the same time, she asked whether the president would sign the act in this form “without hesitation”.
The minister emphasized that the social costs resulting from alcohol abuse are gigantic and estimated at up to PLN 100 billion annually. “After all, it's pure saving. Today, we all contribute to the consequences of alcohol abuse,” she added.
Read also: Drivers, get ready for a lot of changes in the law. Zero alcohol limit is just the beginning
Ban on alcohol advertising and restrictions on sales
Pełczyńska-Nałęcz also reminded that Another project by Poland 2050 is being processed in the Sejm, which assumes the introduction of a ban on alcohol advertising, including non-alcoholic drinks marked as “0 percent”. Additionally, municipalities would be able to introduce restrictions on the sale of alcohol from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. and a ban on its sale at gas stations.
According to policies, such changes are consistent with social expectations. “70 percent of Poles believe that alcohol is too easily available today,” she noted. She also expressed hope that the president, guided by the good of citizens, would decide to sign both bills. “If vetoes are to 'serve Poles', then let signatures also serve them,” she concluded.
