Introduction of excise duty on beer, avoided by politicians. This is a missed opportunity for people with disabilities

Once again, the requirement proposed by many groups to include excise duties on beer, as is the case in most EU countries, was missing. Today, more than half of EU countries levy excise duties on beer based on its alcohol content.

MP Maja Ewa Nowak from Poland 2050 asked the Sejm why the law on personal assistance, prepared a few months ago at the Ministry of Family, is not being further processed and why the project developed by this ministry has not received the approval of the Ministry of Family. Finances. In response, Deputy Finance Minister Hanna Majszczyk said that her ministry supports the solutions provided for in the law, but expects that the Ministry of Family will review all instruments supporting people with disabilities, the cost of which amounts to PLN 50 billion per year and their effectiveness not monitored.

The excise thread did not appear. The candidate parliamentarian has also not used the legal opportunity to “ask” a representative of the Ministry of Finance, and money is ready for people with disabilities in the beer excise proposal.

Olga Legosz to politicians about beer taxes

– Extreme poverty among households with at least one person with a disability has increased significantly: from 6.7 percent in 2022 to 9 percent in 2023 – Patryk Słowik from “Wirtualna Polska” recently reported on record. More than PLN 10 billion would be lost from the budget if we were to count excise duties on beer based on the percentage of alcohol, at the same rate as for other alcohols OzN is in extreme poverty (Persons with disabilities – ed.) forms a large group,” Olga answered him on the X website Legosz, an influencer, who drew attention to the problem.

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about the ‘Beer is also alcohol’ campaign. The golden drink is still a privileged alcohol in Poland and this is undoubtedly due to the strong support of the wealthy entity Kampania Piwowarska. One of the many illustrations that show the privilege of beer is the fact that it is displayed among consumer goods differently than spirits that are in special counters or behind a vendor. Meanwhile, the data is clear and non-alcoholic beer (which often introduces you to the world of alcoholic breweries) was once even on sale in pharmacies (we are talking about the DOZ pharmacy chain). Interestingly, Article 131 of the Law on Sobriety Education and Combating Alcoholism prohibits the advertising and promotion of alcoholic beverages, with the exception of prohibition beer. As if beer is not a dangerous alcohol, like wine or vodka.

Beer is addictive and destroys minors

What is the data? They are crushing. Here’s some information in a nutshell.

• 16 million packs of 0.5 liters of beer are sold every day. Incomparably more than demonized ‘monkeys’,

• beer is the alcohol that Poles most often buy in the afternoon,

• the first alcohol consumed by minors in Poland is beer: 78%. of them tasted beer with their parents’ permission,

• access to beer is easiest for minors: 66% buy it. minors because of the low price (59%) and good availability in stores (52%),

• the main factors influencing early alcohol consumption are: family, peer group and beer advertising,

• 77% of young people have come across beer advertising that promotes a positive lifestyle and emotions associated with its consumption, which can influence the formation of the belief that ‘beer is not alcohol’.

• beer advertising strengthens the alcohol initiation of young people,

• the message built into beer advertising creates the perception that it is not alcohol,

• zero beer variants are not different enough from their alcoholic versions, driving the growth of the mainstream beer category,

• trend in the EU, the vast majority of EU countries impose excise duties on beer based on its alcohol content, and in Poland beer is still privileged.

The president’s project must be cross-party

Yesterday an article about three disabled people appeared on the “Super Express” website. “They have been in a wheelchair since they were seven – Waldemar (40), his brother Jarek (35) and sister Marzena (44). All three are breathing with a ventilator. They suffer from one of the genetic diseases, muscle atrophy, a disease that came to light when they were several years old. To live, they require 24-hour care, as they cannot even scratch themselves, let alone perform basic daily activities or change positions.

The solution for them would be disability assistance. “All three need guardians who can care for them almost around the clock, so-called personal assistance. There are projects for such aid in Poland, but for now they are just projects. And they need help now,” concluded the author of the text. Such projects include: excise taxes on brewing products, which the Sejm did not take into account at all.

In Poland, no legislative solutions have been implemented regarding assistantships for people with disabilities, and the topic of disability was often mentioned in the campaigns of politicians from Civic Platform and the New Left. “SE” recalled that a draft law on aid to OzN is ready in Poland and that the question remains whether the members of the ruling coalition are able to rise above the party divisions to support it and protect the lives of to make it easier for the most deprived Poles.

“It will be organized by the provinces for their residents, and the service will be financed from the state budget. One of the elements is increasing the limit on the number of hours of care to support a disabled person. The draft of the law was consulted by two teams of experts, one of which consisted exclusively of people with disabilities. However, they have many reservations about the project,” the tabloid said.