World of Heineken 43 winter 2010
Alberto da Ponte (left), MD of Heineken's
Central de Cerveias, next to President of the
Council of the EU, Herman Van Bompuy
The Beer Serves Europe event was attended by over 400 beer sector
representatives, European and national policymakers, and journalists.
President of the Council of the EU, Herman Van Rompuy, opened the
conference by recounting Europe's motto "unity in diversity". He said
the term could also be applied to the brewers of Europe. "United
in your various strengths, you play an important economic and
community-building role.
"The EU will further invest in sound policies to provide the tools
needed to continue to flourish and grow in Europe. Breweries of the
27 member states, plus Turkey, Norway, Croatia and Switzerland
produce 427 million hectolitres of beer per year, or a quarter of
worldwide production, generating a total added value of €59 billion
yearly." He added: "Beer and beer producers are important for
Europe. They are cultural ambassadors for Europe, they deliver
a major contribution to the economy and they strengthen social
cohesion, in a responsible way."
DAMAGING ECONOMIC RECOVERY
In response to a number of proposed legislative changes to the
taxation of alcohol, an independent report, commissioned by The
Brewers of Europe, concluded that any potential beer tax increases
would jeopardise economic recovery in Europe. Alcoholic beverages
represent a €242.5 billion industry in terms of sales in the EU and beer
sales account for 46% of that figure.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, a 20% increase in excise
taxes could cost the EU more than 70,000 jobs currently supported
by the beer sector. Yet the sector, which employs 2.5 million people in
Europe directly or indirectly, is seeing substantial increases in taxes
on beer in some European countries.
Speaking at the event, Alberto da Ponte, President of The Brewers
of Europe and Managing Director of Heineken's Central de Cervejas
in Portugal, said, "Tax increases would hit brewers hard, just as the
economy is striving to emerge from a damaging recession."
than offset by decreases in tax revenue from personal income tax and
social security payments due to loss of industry jobs, and reductions
in corporate taxation due to lower profits.
Joining Alberto on the debating panel, Heineken CEO Jean-Frangois
van Boxmeer, suggested that: "Governments and all associated
with the brewing sector need to work together to address
difficult challenges. These include reducing our carbon footprint,
understanding our role in Europe and beyond, partnerships to
promote responsible drinking and setting wise economic policies."
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT TAX AND ALCOHOL MISUSE
As part of the wider debate on whether increased taxation constitutes
an effective deterrent to alcohol misuse, panelist and chairman of the
European Foundation for Alcohol Research (ERAB), Professor Philippe
De Witte, said research showed this was not the case.
He said a recent report commissioned by the Swedish, Danish and
Finnish governments*1 investigated whether easy access to cheaper,
cross-border alcohol in southern Sweden would produce heavier
misuse of alcohol. The report, however, 'astounded' researchers who
found that consumption actually increased in the north of Sweden
compared to the south. "These findings suggest that tax is not the
easy answer to dealing with alcohol misuse," said Professor De Witte.
"More important considerations are environmental, behavioural and
cultural differences."
Doctor Martin Rawlings, Director of Pub Leisure for the British Beer
Pub Association, agreed, pointing out that: "Brewers have made
important strides through various social responsibility initiatives and
self-regulation, including numerous responsible drinking campaigns
run by Heineken around the world. He said much media attention
had been given to binge drinking and other irresponsible behaviours,
but that the real story of drug abuse coupled with the drinking of
alcoholic spirits at home before visiting on-trade outlets, often
went unseen.
Panelists also pointed out the flaws in suggestions to tax
alcoholic beverages based on alcohol content. A recent
PricewaterhouseCoopers report* points out that any move toward
taxing all drinks based solely on alcohol content (unitary taxation)
would disadvantage lower alcohol beverages such as beer. Any
increase in excise tax revenues resulting from this would be more
The Beer Serves Europe event, the first of its kind, was organised
jointly by The Brewers of Europe, the Union of Belgian Brewers
and Euro-Toques, the European Community of Cooks. For more
information on the Beer Serves Europe event, or for details of any of
the reports mentioned, please contact
rutger.goethart@heineken.com.
Heineken CEO, Jean-Francois van Boxmeer,
speaking at the Beer Serves Europe event
Taxing the brewing sector: a European analysis of the costs of producing beer and the impact of excise duties
41 Changes in alcohol availability, price and alcohol-related problems and the collectivity of drinking cultures: what happened in southern and northern Sweden?
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