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Scotch Whisky
drinkers in Taiwan are to enjoy tax cuts of more than £4.00 a litre bottle as
a result of the EU/Taiwan trade agreement signed today. |
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The deal will end
Taiwan’s discriminatory tax regime by 1 January 1999. At present Scotch and Irish
Whiskies are taxed more than twice as heavily as American, Canadian and Japanese brands in
Taiwan. |
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The tax on Scotch
and Irish Whiskies is currently NT$440 (£7.80) a litre with other whiskies enjoying a
rate of NT$198 (£3.50) a litre. At the end of the year the tax on Scotch will be cut
so that all spirits will be taxed at the same rate. |
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Welcoming the
reform, The Scotch Whisky Association Director General, Mr Hugh Morison, said: "In
spite of long standing tax discrimination, Taiwan is already one of the industry’s
major markets. This cut will allow Scotch to compete on an equal basis and creates a huge
opportunity for further increases in sales. |
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"We will now be
pressing the Taiwan authorities to introduce proper legal definitions and labelling
regulations to protect consumers and the industry from the many misleadingly labelled
products that have been able to ride on the back of the Scotch Whisky industry’s
success because of inadequate legislation." |
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