Fifteen Greece-based micro-brewers have sent Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras a letter sharply criticizing recent tax hikes aimed directly at the brewing sector, where among others they charged that an increase in a special excise on beer production by 100 percent will prove catastrophic for their businesses.
The micro-brewers reminded that they are wholly Greek-owned businesses of which 90 percent are located on islands and other remote regions. Micro-breweries, as reported by the sector itself, number some 30 around Greece, tripling since 2009, and with an ever expanding export role.
In their letter, the brewers pointed to a new beer and ale tax of 3 percent, reports of a 100-percent hike in a special liquor consumption tax, the latest hike in VAT rates (now at 24 percent), a bevy of increases in income tax rates, higher social security contributions by both working people and employers and rising costs for energy and telecommunications.
