RIGA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Latvian lawmakers on Thursday endorsed the proposal to cut excise duty on strong alcoholic beverages by 15 percent in response to neighboring Estonia's decision to slash excise duty on alcohol by 25 in a bid to stop Estonians from buying cheaper booze in Latvia.
The decision to cut the excise duty on alcohol was taken as the lowering of the respective tax in Estonia threatened to curb cross-border trade significantly and reduce Latvia's budget revenue.
Latvian parliamentarians are determined to pass the bill in a fast-track procedure in two readings, with the second and final reading expected to take place during the next extraordinary parliament session.
As a result of the tax cut, the Latvian excise duty on strong alcoholic beverages will go down from 1,840 euros to 1,564 euros per 100 liters of pure alcohol.
In Estonia, excise duty on beer, cider and strong alcohol is going down 25 percent on July 1. Estonian authorities say the tax measure is intended to give retailers a chance to lower prices to keep consumers from bringing large amounts of alcohol from Latvia to Estonia.
