Czech Beer to Get Even Cheaper?

The Czech Republic reports the highest beer consumption in the world, and that number may grow with a proposed reduction in beer VAT

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 04.02.2016 18:20:00 (updated on 04.02.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

Daily News

No surprises: the Czech Republic continues to lead the world in beer consumption per capita. By a large margin.

In recently-released 2013 figures reported by The Economist, the Czech Republic is reported to consume 145.4 liters per person annually. The next closest country is Germany (113.3), followed by Austria (108.4), Estonia (102.4), and Poland (98.7). 

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Interestingly enough, while beer consumption has risen in those other four countries from 2012-13, it’s gone down slightly in the Czech Republic. In 2012, the country recorded 148.6 liters of beer per person.

To give the number some perspective, that’s a bit less than one small beer (.33l) per person per day, which doesn’t seem so bad.

The high rate of consumption likely corresponds to the price. This Thrillist article pegs the price of a pint in the Czech Republic at $1.06, beaten only by Ukraine and Vietnam.

But according to Andrej Babiš, that’s not good enough.

Last week, the Czech Finance Minister proposed to decrease the VAT on beer from 21% to 10%. The proposed decrease in VAT is a response to criticism of another measure being discussed, mandatory electronic records of sales and VAT monitoring reports, according to iDnes.cz.

The proposal has not met with universal acclaim, however, with Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka pointing out that it might contradict the government’s plans to decrease consumption of alcohol in the country.

The story was quickly picked up by the Associated Press, making its way into the pages of the Daily Mail, Business Insider, and elsewhere.

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By the way, it’s Dry February in the Czech Republic this month, where participants are urged to go sober to promote men’s health issues.

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