ABSTRACT

Alcoholic beverages are commercial products and as such are subject to the same economic principles as other products. This chapter provides a picture of the differences in alcohol prices in European Economic Area countries and discusses the role of alcohol taxes within the differences. It describes how alcoholic beverages are taxed and priced in Finland, Norway, and Sweden, and how the tax system and alcohol prices have developed during the study period. The chapter presents information about the price of alcoholic beverages in these three countries by beverage category and by on- and off-premise sales. Comparing alcohol prices in different countries involves many problems, one of them being exchange rates. It is difficult to collect comparable data on the general price levels, as drinking habits and beverage preferences are quite different in different countries. The difference in Alko’s off-premise retail prices and restaurants’ on-premise prices was the commission to restaurants covering both the cost and the profit of the restaurants.