Colombia threatens ban on foreign liquor

[Judi Lynn]

Colombia threatens ban on foreign liquor
Thursday, 20 January 2011 12:30 Hannah Aronowitz

Colombia threatened to cut off foreign liquor imports starting March 1 in hopes to reclaim lost tax on illegal imports, at the National Federation of Departments on Wednesday, reported newspaper El Espectador Thursday.

This measure, proposed by 31 governors of Colombia, is intended to turnaround the ongoing fight against liquor smuggling, which gained notoriety in 2004 when Colombia sued multinational liquor companies, Diageo, Seagram and Pernod Ricard in New York City courts.

Of the 28 million bottles imported into Colombia every year only 6 million were properly taxed, said the governor of Caldas Mario Aristizabal. That means 75 percent of the liquor entering the country is smuggled.

"We believe it is essential to protect the financial department and raise the revenues in each department," the governor of Huila Jorge Luis Sanchez told Sanchez told newspaper La Republica.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13833-colombia-threatens-ban-on-foreign-liquor.html

[Peace Patriot]

1. LOL! They'd do better to legalize and tax cocaine. But the CIA wouldn't like it. nt

[Bacchus39]

2. no, actually cocaine is for export to countries with money

Colombians wouldn't pay for cocaine that is highly taxed. and then the importing countries would have to legalize too.

coffee is a good example of why this is so. excellent coffee is reserved mostly for export although good coffee is widely available in Colombia. Guatemala on the other hand, exports coffee and the coffee you drink in country is horrible.

[Peace Patriot]

4. They would tax the EXPORTED cocaine, silly.

Take 40% right off the top--still a lucrative business.

Wouldn't THAT give the "war on drugs" profiteers a heart attack!

Oh, Gawd, I wish they would do this. It would be so hilarious to see U.S. officials getting all moral and righteous and sputtering in their lattes!

'But, but, but...you can't, you CAN'T...'

-----------------

California should do the same thing with marijuana. Legalize it, tax it and facilitate its exportation, all the way to the border where it is illegal, and then look the other way.

What could they do? Invade California? What could they do to Colombia, that they haven't already done? Deny them "free trade"? LOL!

In fact, this is sort of Evo Morales' idea, with the coca leaf cola they're now producing in Bolivia--although coca leaf tea (as opposed to cocaine) is harmless. (Not to our war profiteers, though--it's a "demon weed" requiring billions in Big Chem toxic herbicides to eradicate, and lots of guns.)

The point is: Why should there be a HUGE untaxed business going on, with these enterprising business people paying NOTHING of their social obligations? They should be paying for schools, hospitals, roads, emergency services, libraries, health care. They should be paying for REHAB, when their product harms anyone.

Do transfats do any less harm than cocaine? I doubt it. Most of the harm from cocaine comes from THE WAR ON DRUGS.

So let government become the "criminal enterprise" and let the people get some benefit out of it, for godssakes!

And let the U.S. government and its war profiteer lobbyists suck on THAT!

[Bacchus39]

5. right, they would implement tax and then where would they export it to??? silly

its still illegal in just about every country. so where would they export their cocaine product to if its illegal in the places they want to send it to?? as far as I know everyone taxes liquor, the US does on imported liquor. whats the issue with you???

[Peace Patriot]

6. I meant that they would not stop it being shipped out of the country.

Let the country that it is coming into, illegally, deal with it--if they want to go on with this stupid "Prohibition" policy. Are they going to go arrest the whole government of Colombia?

I know it's very, very, very, very, very, very, very unlikely--but I was being creative.

You want revenue? You've got a HUGE probably trillion dollar business going on, right under your nose (so to speak). Hell, probably half the government is involved it anyway. And nobody's paying taxes on it.

I was thinking this could be Colombia's revenge for all the crap they've taken from the "Yanqis" about their main export product. Legalize it and say, "Up yours! Deal with it!"

It could just bring down the biggest, most multi-government entangled, most ludicrously FAILED, most expensive bullshit policy in the history of the world!

[Bacchus39]

8. yes, the drug war is failed policy but the topic is taxing imported liquor

thats pretty standard policy worldwide.

drug money flows back into the economy anyway. the government is simply trying to regulate and get their share of revenue from a legal product. changing drug policy will require a global effort not just from Colombia.

[naaman fletcher]

3. Well that sure will help import revenue. nt

[Judi Lynn]

7. You may recall Venezuela's President called for a tax on Scotch in Venezuela,

which seemed offensive to right-wing U.S. Americans:

Chavez calls time on whisky boom
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3013625

The price of vice increases in Venezuela
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2064702#2064733