France: Small brewers to be exempt from tax rises

France’s small independent brewers will be exempt from the planned beer tax rise, the French media reported earlier this week.

The French government decided to leave unchanged the tax rates for brewers producing up to 10 000 hl of beer per year.

The government announced plans at the beginning of October, during its presentation of the social security finance bill, to double the tax on beer. The provision, which provoked immediate outrage from the industry, is expected to yield around EUR800 mln in additional tax revenue.

19 October, 2012