Beer and Takju Volume-Based Tax Transition... National Tax Service Implements 'Regulatory Innovation Helper' System

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] The National Tax Service announced on the 4th that it will provide an easy-to-understand guide on the taxation system and regulatory reform measures related to "alcohol," which has attracted significant public interest, following the implementation of the Liquor Tax Act on the 1st, which changes the liquor tax system for beer and takju from ad valorem tax to specific tax.

From the 1st, the basis for imposing liquor tax on beer and takju has shifted from an ad valorem tax based on price to a specific tax based on volume shipped.

The specific tax was introduced to promote the development of high-quality alcoholic beverages and to eliminate unreasonable discrimination between domestically produced beer and imported beer.

In the case of beer, looking at consumption volume, the price of bottled beer remains almost unchanged, but canned beer will have a lower tax burden, allowing room for price adjustments.

In particular, as the price competitiveness of craft beer improves, it is expected that various types of products desired by consumers will be released.

Also, for takju, since the existing tax rate (5%) is low, even with the transition to specific tax (41.7 KRW per liter), the impact on the shipment price is minimal.

However, the shipment price of premium takju is expected to decrease slightly, and it is anticipated to have a positive effect on the premiumization of regular takju as well.

A National Tax Service official stated, "Starting this year, we will implement the 'Regulatory Innovation Helper' system, which provides one-on-one mentoring services for startups related to alcoholic beverages, and actively carry out proactive administration by preemptively reforming unreasonable regulations related to alcohol."

He added, "We plan to continuously communicate with the public by sharing rational improvement plans for liquor tax-related systems, directions for regulatory reform to develop the liquor industry, and common knowledge about alcohol."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.