Brexit
June 12, 2016
AJ Linn (45 articles)
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Brexit

Brexit if you want to….

AJ Linn

The possibility of a Brexit is preying on the minds of UK expats in whatever

European country they may have taken up abode, but as it happens we are the

lucky ones as far as the essentials of life are concerned. The real victims will be

UK residents who enjoy a tipple.

If Brexit becomes a reality, travellers returning from Europe to Fortress Britain

will be restricted, as in the bad old days, to 16 litres of beer, 4 litres of wine and a

litre of spirits or two litres of fortified or sparkling wine.

However those who support minimum pricing as a way of reducing alcohol

consumption will be happy. Scotland's efforts to legislate accordingly were

thwarted by EU trade competition rules, but, if outside the EU, they will be able

to do what they want. A proposal to reduce duty on draught real ale and cider as

a way of getting people back to pubs will henceforth become easier as EU duty

rates on such items will not have to be respected. British winemakers, just

starting to get the international recognition they deserve, may find their exports

hampered by tax barriers set up when selling to EU countries.

A serious commercial threat would be the effect on geographical food and drink

denominations, currently protected EU-wide by law. No longer in the Brussels

club, a British maker of Stilton cheese, for example, could be involved in

expensive legal battles to stop a French producer selling 'Stilton' to the USA or

Russia. Scotch whisky distillers would also be seriously affected until adequate

UK/EU treaties were signed – years away.

It is hard to think how the resident expat who seldom leaves Spain would suffer,

except that UK-sourced products may be subject to higher taxes, whether

personal possessions or mail order and online purchases.

In any case many of us will not have a great deal of interest in the matter by the

time the final ties are cut in the decade or so it will take to complete the

formalities of a Brexit.

Shall we open that second bottle now?

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AJ Linn

AJ Linn

AJ Linn se estableció en España hace más de 40 años tras una abreviada carrera en Inglaterra vinculada entre otras cosas con la importación de vinos. Ha vivido en El Puerto de Santa María y Cádiz, ahora Marbella, y durante las ultimas décadas se ha dedicado a varios negocios, hasta que actualmente se limita a escribir sobre vino, gastronomía, flamenco y el estilo de vida español. Aparte de su columna semanal en el Diario Sur, sus artículos se publican con regularidad en medios de habla inglesa, tanto en España como en el extranjero.

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