Raised taxes

A few years back the taxes on hard liquor like Whisky, Vodka and Koskenkorva were lowered here in Finland and became more affordable than other alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer and cider.

Which I found quite bizarre already then.

Maybe it was good the government with an increase in the tax-income as most of it came from liquor manufactured in a distillery owned by the government, as it also happens to be the preferred alcoholic drink in this country.

More money for the politicians to spend on things like the Parliament Centennial celebrations. Or maybe the politicians tried to save some money with the cheaper booze?

Anyway, now the politicians finally have begun to rethink the whole thing as there has been an alarming raise in alcohol related health problems during the population and especially among youngsters. There has been a lot more hospital admissions due to alcohol intoxication and various other injuries inflicted under the influence as well as an increase in many diseases related to prolonged alcohol consumption. More money needed for the public healthcare.

So good news now is, that there is a proposition to attach labels on all the packages of alcoholic beverages, just like the warning labels on cigarettes such as ”Smoking deteriorates your health” and the advertising of alcohol is also to be restricted.

And the taxes are going up again.