According to the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, the state is making more money selling spirits due to an increase in excise tax.
The 10 percent increase in consumption tax, which came into force in January 2020, increased budget revenues by PLN 10.5 billion (EUR 2.33 billion) by the end of October last year.
“That’s because customers are turning to more expensive drinks,” the daily wrote. “Whiskey sales grew the fastest by 20 percent to PLN 3.2 billion (EUR 0.71 billion).”
The value of the Polish spirits market rose 7 percent, according to NielsenIQ, a research company quoted by the newspaper.
“Poles drink more expensive spirits, but the volume of alcohol sales is slowly declining due to lower sales of beer and other beverages,” Karolina Zajdel-Pawlak, managing director of NielsenIQ, was quoted in the newspaper.
In 2020, Poles spent PLN 39.1 billion (EUR 8.7 billion) on alcohol, over PLN 1,000 (EUR 222) per capita, the newspaper wrote on Friday.