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INDEPENDENT Senator Francis Lewis has questioned the $1 billion in revenues anticipated by Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo in hiking excise duties on rum, beer and tobacco products. Lewis was speaking in the Senate on October 29 in debate on motions to confirm the Excise Duty (Tobacco Products)(Amendment) Orders, the Excise Duty (Alcoholic Beverages)(Amendment) Orders, and the Customs (Import Duty)(Caricom)(Amendment) Order, 2025. He recalled that once in a trade war dubbed the beer wars, one company had dropped the price of a bottle of beer from $3 to $1.99 (a 33 per cent drop) and in doing so had garnered a 45 per cent rise in sales. Lewis used this example to question the belief that the amount of consumption of alcohol and tobacco would be unaffected by price changes, a concept known as price in-elasticity. “The market is not as inelastic as we think. Assumptions about taxes can be wrong.” Lewis shared his anecdotal views in the proposed price hikes based on his talks with people in the sector in which he declared he has worked as a consultant to local manufacturers of beer and rum. “Don’t go too far, too fast, nah. You can trip us up,” he recalled one businessperson saying. Saying the alcohol and beverage sector was very significant in Trinidad and Tobago as “a major player,” he added, “Our companies are the envy of other places.” Mulling the effect of excise hikes on local businesses, he said, “They are very resilient, but let us be conscious of what this does to them as a business.” Lewis estimated 100,000 people are employed in the food and beverage sector, including 35,000 in small bars and shops where alcohol was two-thirds of their products. He said TT has several thousand rum-shops, including many which operate only on weekends, with a high impact on employment in TT. Lewis quoted one bar owner explaining his business. “Beer pays the bills. Rum pays for my family to live.” He said the impact of the excise hike plus any general uncertainty can really hurt the sector. “Many are still in covid recovery mode. One might be holding on by the fingernails. People are still recovering, and any shift in revenue needs to be considered with that in mind.” Lewis related the plight of business people who lamented to him they had already sold tickets for all-inclusive events for Carnival 2026 for which they had done calculations without knowing of the new hike in alcohol excise rates. Of the price hikes, he said, “The expectation is that it will impact the revenue earned in the establishment.” He said he sensed that operators would have liked the government to have consulted them first, out of the glare of the public spotlight. Mulling employment with the alcohol beverage sector, he recalled it from his day in the industry as being 600 jobs at Carib Brewery, 550-600 at Carib Glassworks and 400 at Angostura. He remarked, “If our actions create uncertainty, it doesn’t bode well.” Lewis said a regional maker of a vodka-based beverage had found a way into the TT market without attracting tax. “Their margins are significantly higher than the locally-based product.” He quoted a view among the local beverage sector. “The comment is ‘Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg’.” Lewis hoped local beverage operators could have a strong last quarter to the fiscal year, to help them have a good first quarter in the next fiscal year. He said if businesses felt supported, it would ultimately help the government, but conversely if businesses were holding back it would not be good for TT. After senators spoke, the Senate passed all of the government’s proposals to raise excise rates on various alcohol and tobacco products.
