India: sharp increase in alcohol taxes to compensate for the lack of income

Text by: Sébastien Farcis Follow

India began partial deconfinement since Monday. Alcohol, banned from sale for almost six weeks, is now flowing freely and impressive queues have been seen outside stores. An affluence that has especially allowed regional governments to earn income.

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With our correspondent in New Delhi,

The regional governors have decided to sharply raise alcohol taxes to compensate for the lack of income due to the economic downturn.

After more than a month of confinement , the bottles of alcohol are finally within reach of the inhabitants. However, they are much more expensive. In New Delhi, the regional government has just imposed a “ coronavirus tax  ”an additional 70% on all spirits. The state of Andhra Pradesh in the south of the country raises the bill by 75%, Bengal in the east by 30%.

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Deterring Indians from drinking

Some elected officials say that it is to dissuade the Indians from drinking excessively after this shortage, but the government of the capital, it is much more prosaic. "  The objective is above all budgetary,  " he announces.

In Delhi, the shutdown of the economy dropped tax revenues by 90% in April while the state opened soup kitchens to feed hundreds of thousands of poor families and daily workers who lost every day their work.

Therefore, the chests are dangerously empty. And we are looking for any source of income. New Delhi has therefore also increased fuel taxes - by 2% on gasoline and 11% on diesel.

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