Estonia: Parliament cancels additional alcohol tax hike in 2025

The finance committee of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has decided to cancel an additional 5% increase in the excise tax on alcohol that was planned for July 2025, ERR reports. Committee chairwoman Annely Akkermann said that the tax hike would have led to increased cross-border trade and grey market sales, thus reducing state budget revenue. The government still plans to raise the excise duty on alcohol by 5% per year in 2025-2028. Estonia’s alcohol tax was cut in July 2019 to curb cross-border trade from Latvia.