Estonia: Shortfall of alcohol excise duty inflow totals tens of million of euros

TALLINN - The estimated inflow of excise duty on alcohol has never missed the mark as severely as it has in the 2017 budget and while the truth will be determined at the beginning of February, it can already be seen that there will be a shortage of 40-50 million euros compared to the 276.4 million euros written down in the state budget, the daily Postimees reports.

It is likely that last summer's significantly cut estimation of 237.5 million euros will not be fulfilled either.

Slightly more is paid into the state budget as excise duty on alcohol every year, while the average hikes have been 14 million euros since 2010. However, 2017 will likely be the first year in more than ten years, when the inflow of excise duty on alcohol will be smaller than the year before. While in 2016 altogether 251 million euros in alcohol excise duty were paid into the budget, then in 2017 it will likely be closer to the 2015 mark, which was 222 million euros.