BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
01/01/2009
Belarus hits moonshiners with new tax in anti-drunk crack down
Author : DPA
Minsk - A new law mandating a first-ever tax obligation for all Belarusian moonshine manufacturers went into effect on Thursday, as the authoritarian government of President Aleksander Lukashenko kicked off a national anti-intoxication campaign. All home manufacturers of alcoholic beverages in the former Soviet republic will be obliged to pay the government tax on the value of their drink, at 50 per cent of excise rates paid by the country's state-owned vodka and cognac factories.
The measure was aimed primarily at village moonshine distillers selling strong drink to their neighbours, at prices well below government-manufactured liquor.
The law was not aimed at stamping out the "Belarusian national tradition" of brewing moonshine, but rather at making the product safer and reducing its sale to youth, according to a Belarusian Ministry of Health statement.
Lukashenko, a teetotaler devoted to exercise and sport, during a December speech accused the country's moonshine manufacturers of responsibility for widespread alcoholism in Belarus' rural regions.
Consumption of intoxicating drink is a popular activity in Belarus, where Soviet-era drinking traditions linger, and a largely planned economy leaves many Belarusians in low-paying jobs with few entertainment opportunities aside from tippling.
Source:
Archive
Subscribe Daily Newsletter:
Belarus News and Analysis Donate:
