Amendment scrapping wine tax submitted to parliament

The Finance Ministry submitted to parliament on Tuesday an amendment abolishing an excise tax on wine as of 2019, in a move that was widely expected after the levy was reversed by a court earlier in the year.

The special consumption tax has been in place since January 2016 and sees 0.15 euros added to the cost of a 750 ml bottle of wine or 0.20 euros to a 1-liter bottle.

In early September 2018, the Council of State cancelled the tax, after it was challenged in court by the Greek Wine Federation, the National Interprofessional Organization of Vine and Wine of Greece (EDOAO), and other wine associations.

A debate is underway in Greek parliament on legislation that will cancel a major round of pension cuts which were to take effect on Jan. 1, after the country secured the agreement of bailout lenders that the cuts were no longer necessary for a balanced budget.