Não à harmonização!

Via FT:

The European Commission wants to increase harmonisation of alcohol excise duties in the EU, in an attempt to tackle fraud and smuggling inside the single market.
It also believes the big variations in excise duties distort the market, although differentials in value added tax are often a more significant factor.
Finance ministers, meeting at Tuesday's Ecofin council in Luxembourg, are expected to instruct the Commission to update the 1992 deal which brought modest harmonisation of EU excise rates on alcohol. That set minimum rates for beer, fortified wine and spirits, but left wine and sparkling wine untouched. Sweden has led demands for the minimum rates of excise duty to be increased in line with inflation they have been unchanged since 1993 in effect increasing them by over 20 per cent.

Porque é que sempre que falam em harmonização fiscal, o resultado é a subida de impostos? Neste caso específico, a elasticidade do consumo de vinho, nem aconselha o uso deste tipo de imposto. Bem, se calhar estou a pensar só na do meu consumo...
Em todo o caso, mais um exemplo de que os prazeres humanos são uma fonte de receita inesgotável para os estados.