For all of us who love bali, this is a wake up call

[hermit]

I read this when it first came out and I had some reservations then - so many of us are used to accepting more or less blindly what has been printed in newspapers that it sometimes takes a while (if at all) for the truth or untruth of many statements to percolate through. Percolation has happened:

Markit,we are not talking about Chablis.Why does a bottle of simple australian wine cost here five times more than in Europe?(which is really a longer distance away from Australia as well.)

[BKT]

I guess we'll have to get use to traffic problems in Bali like Markit says, normal countries make changes to existing roads and they build more roads to help the flow in other areas, here they do nothing.

[ronb]

................Why does a bottle of simple australian wine cost here five times more than in Europe?(which is really a longer distance away from Australia as well.)

Hermit, there is a simple answer to your question. There is a high import duty on alcoholic drinks.

It is not likely that the parliament in Jakarta will reduce this.

Of course, you could dream of a day when Bali negotiates a "special status" and can set it's own import duties - but really that is just a dream.

[hermit]

[QUOTE]

Hermit, there is a simple answer to your question. There is a high import duty on alcoholic drinks.

Of course,i know that.And on top of that there is another tax relevant to the alcoholcontent.(wich came in the place of the luxury tax)The point in the first posting of this thread,worded by the bali tourism authority,was that it was bad for bussines.Of course it is,Maybe apart from Sweden these prices are the highest in the world.I do not miss my Chablis,but for many visitors wine is unaffordable now.
Something else,as the second tax is levied on the alcohol content,why is a bottle of vodka or whisky about the same price now as a bottle of wine?Wine alcoholcontent 11-15 percent,spirits 40percent.
There seems to be a monopoly for one firm on the import of wine,so the price before tax is already artificially inflated.Firms like Zero Spirits might me able to sell for better prices,but as Monsieur Antoine,the owner told me,his container from South Africa is stuck in Jakarta.Machinations,vested interests?Everything seems possible.