Raising excise duty on alcohol
Act amending the annex to the Act on Excise Duty on Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages
Excise duty on alcoholic beverages would be increased by an average of around 10 per cent, which would raise retail prices by an average of 5 per cent. The objective is to increase central government tax revenue and reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm.
- Status
- Passed with amendments
- Submitted
- 2 Nov 2017
- Latest event
- 21 Dec 2017
- Votes
- 2
- Speeches
- 51
- Confirmed
- 28 Dec 2017
- Statute
- 1053/2017
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
Excise duty on all alcoholic beverage categories would be increased, with the increase weighted towards mild beverages. Duty on mild fermented beverages (such as cider) would increase by 15.4 per cent, wine by 12.7 per cent, beer by 10.6 per cent, intermediate products by an average of 9.5 per cent, and spirits by 4.8 per cent.
What it means
The amendment would enter into force on 1 January 2018 and increase central government tax revenue by around 100 million euros a year. For consumers, this would be reflected in higher retail prices (for example, the price of medium-strength beer would rise on average by over 6 per cent, wine by over 4 per cent, and spirits by just under 3 per cent). Domestic recorded alcohol consumption is estimated to decrease by around 2 per cent, which may dampen demand in the brewing, restaurant, and retail sectors. At the same time, tax support received by small breweries would increase by around 1 million euros a year.
How Parliament voted
The act ultimately passed without a vote: no MP proposed rejecting it in the final reading. The votes concerned details of the act.
Lausumaehdotus, mietintö / Pekonen
Yes won by 171–19.
Only the Left Alliance against. 1 abstained, 8 were absent. Minutes ↗
Filled dot = yes, ring = no, grey = absent. The seating plan at the time of this vote is not archived, so MPs are grouped by party in indicative seats.
A passed act does not enter into force immediately: the President of the Republic confirms it, and it enters into force on the date set in the act. This act was confirmed on 28 Dec 2017.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
51 speeches · 3 debates
Key points of the debate
The debate addressed raising alcohol tax by 100 million euros to reduce taxation on labour and curb alcohol-related harm. The principle of the tax increase was broadly supported across government and opposition lines, but controversy was sparked by linking the proposal to the reform of the Alcohol Act, considered concurrently, which would increase the availability of alcohol. There was also discussion on a potential reduction in value added tax (VAT) on alcohol served in restaurants and on whether the tax increase was sufficiently large.
- How do the alcohol tax increase and the liberalisation of the Alcohol Act fit together?
- Should value added tax (VAT) on alcohol served in restaurants be lowered to steer consumption into restaurants?
- Should alcohol duty have been increased more than the Government proposed?
- National Coalition PartyIn favour
The National Coalition Party considered the tax increase a justified way to shift the tax burden from labour to taxes on harmful products and to curb alcohol-related harm and passenger imports.
”Hallituksen veropoliittisten linjausten mukaan verotuksen painopistettä siirretään työn ja yrittämisen verotuksesta erityisesti haittaveroihin”
— Petteri Orpo - Centre PartyIn favour
The Centre Party supported the proposal as a moderate and responsible continuation of previous tax increases and considered that tax increases in Estonia made it possible to introduce an increase domestically.
”Esitys on kaikkiaan tavoitetasoltaan ja perusteiltaan valiokunnan mielestä johdonmukainen jatko sitä edeltäneille, vuosien 2008—2014 aikana toteutetuille viidelle veronkorotukselle.”
— Olavi Ala-Nissilä - Social DemocratsIn favour with reservations
The Social Democrats considered the increase in taxes on harmful products justified in itself, but criticised linking the tax increase to the reform of the Alcohol Act that would increase availability and harm.
”Sinänsä on ihan oikein, että tänä päivänä voimme näitä haittaveroja ikään kuin korottaa. Niissä on tietenkin omat puolensa ja puolensa, mutta nämä esitykset ovat sinänsä perusteltuja näinä aikoina.”
— Pia Viitanen - GreensIn favour with reservations
The Greens considered alcohol taxation an important steering instrument, but strongly criticised tying the proposal to the comprehensive reform of the Alcohol Act and the rushed committee consideration.
”Minusta tämä on kyllä erittäin valitettavaa, että tässä lähdettiin tällä tavalla pelailemaan.”
— Krista Mikkonen - Left AllianceIn favour with reservations
The Left Alliance supported raising the excise duty, but called for a reduction in value added tax (VAT) on alcohol served in restaurants to shift consumption from homes to restaurants and support employment.
”Vasemmistoliitto yhtyy tähän valtionvarainvaliokunnan mietintöön alkoholin valmisteverotuksen muutosten osalta”
— Aino-Kaisa Pekonen - Swedish People's PartyAgainst
The Swedish People's Party took the view that both raising the percentage threshold in the Alcohol Act and the alcohol tax increase could have been omitted to ensure equal treatment.
”olisi ollut parempi jättää tämä korotus ja samalla olisi voinut jättää tämän alkoholiveron korotuksen, mikä olisi koskenut tasavertaisesti kaikkia alkoholijuomia, tuojia, maahantuontia ja yrityksiä.”
— Veronica Rehn-Kivi - Christian DemocratsIn favour with reservations
The Christian Democrats considered the proposed increase too small and proposed doubling the tax increase to 200 million euros to curb alcohol-related harm and expanding availability.
”ryhmämme tuli siihen johtopäätelmään, että veronkorotusta tarvitaan tasapainottamaan tätä tilannetta tuplasti enemmän kuin mitä hallitus on ehdottamassa.”
— Sari Tanus
This digest was generated by AI from 51 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Keskustelu päättyi. Asia lähetettiin valtiovarainvaliokuntaan, jolle sosiaali- ja terveysvaliokunnan on annettava lausunto.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Keskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 2 Nov 2017Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Valtiovarainministeriö
- 9 Nov 2017Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 7 Dec 2017Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · valtiovarainvaliokunta
- 11 Dec 2017Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 19 Dec 2017Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 20 Dec 2017Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki alkoholi- ja alkoholijuomaverosta annetun lain liitteen muuttamisestaHyväksytty muutettuna · 1053/2017 · 28 Dec 2017
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki alkoholi- ja alkoholijuomaverosta annetun lain liitteen muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan alkoholi- ja alkoholijuomaverosta annetun lain (1471/1994) liite, sellaisena kuin se on laissa 1083/2013, seuraavasti:
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Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 2 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.