Offaly and Germany compared by 'Support Your Local' campaign

Each person living in Offaly pays some €733 each year in tax on alcohol, while our counterparts in Germany pay less than half of that at just over €307.

That’s according to the drinks industry, which is calling on the government to reverse the excise tax payable on alcoholic drinks.

Manager of the new ‘Support Your Local’ campaign Bart Storan outlined differences in tax paid in Offaly and Germany across a range of alcohol.

While those in Offaly pay €1.42 tax on a pint of beer, Germans pay just 79c. While here a total of €16.41 of the price of a bottle of spirits is tax, in Germany just €7.48 of the price is tax. Meanwhile the tax on a bottle of wine here is €4.50, while in Germany it’s just €1.12.

“The total tax take in Offaly is €32,978,006,” Mr Storan explained. “If the county was paying German rates of alcohol tax it would amount to €13,824,993.”

Consumption levels in both Ireland and Germany are broadly similar at 11.90 litres per person and 11.80 litres per person per year respectively, making the two easily comparable.

The ‘Support Your Local’ campaign suggests that also indicates that price does little to change consumption levels.

Mr Storan has also critised the government for increases in excise on beer, wine and spirits in the last twelve months.

“Excise duty is a tax that we can no longer afford, a tax on the hard-pressed Offaly consumers,” he said. “If you’re going to facilitate growth in this sector, the government needs to reverse this tax.”