IRELAND: More than half price of bottle of wine goes to Government in tax

IRELAND: Over €5 (A$7.17) from a typical €10 (A$13.35) bottle goes in excise duty and tax and this has soared by 35pc over the last four years. Off-licences are now demanding a reduction in the tax on wine, which they say is 624 per cent higher than the average in the EU. Evelyn Jones, who owns The Vintry off-licence in Rathgar, Dublin 6, said that high excise is squeezing the quality out of wine. “It’s extremely difficult to source quality wine that can sell for €10 a bottle, which is a price-point many people seek,” she said.