The government will prioritise “food before rum”.
That’s according to Minister of Finance, Davendranath Tancoo, as he led a motion to ‘Confirm the Excise Duty on Tobacco Products and Alcoholic Beverages’ in Parliament on Friday evening.
“This government prioritises medicine before whiskey, healthcare before champagne, education before cigarettes, and, as I said, food before rum.”
Minister Tancoo defended the tax hike on tobacco and alcohol products, noting that it’s simply about saving lives and raising revenue.
Leading the motion in the Lower House on Friday evening, he said the measures, which double existing rates, were necessary for public health and fiscal sustainability.
He pointed out that these are not ‘essential goods’, citing international statistics to show efforts to prevent smoking-related diseases and substance abuse, along with troubling statistics from the T&T Police Service relating to offences committed while under the influence.
“This scourge is claiming lives on our highways and in our communities on a very regular and unacceptable basis. And while the police continue their enforcement, Government must play its part to curb this culture of irresponsibility.”
He warned that this ‘culture of alcohol consumption’ has become so pervasive that it has reached the classrooms.
“Between 2022 and 2025, there were over 4,200 cases of students suspended for possession or use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco in secondary schools and, Mr Speaker, in primary schools. These are children, some barely in their teens, already being exposed to substances that should have no place in their lives.”
But Opposition MP Colm Imbert criticised the hike, noting that it will affect T&T’s tourism product.
“So the cost of a bottle of White Oak in Trinidad and Tobago now will be more than twice the cost of the same rum in Barbados. So, we all know what tourists come to do when they come to our country. They want to release endorphins. That is why I gave you the medical research. They want to release endorphins. That’s why they come to our country. That’s why they go on holiday.”
However, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Sean Sobers, countered Mr. Imbert’s argument.
“There are many beautiful things about Trinidad and Tobago, many waterfalls, many other destinations within Trinidad and Tobago that persons can be encouraged to come to. And you don’t have to tell them that they have to drink a Stag or a Carib to come there. And if that is the mentality of the friends opposite, no wonder why they crash the economy.”
He also addressed concerns regarding T&T’s adherence to World Trade Organization (WTO) tariff boundaries.
“In several bilateral engagements, the EU and the UK have raised the assertion that Trinidad and Tobago’s WTO bond rates exceed its applied rates on alcohol products. Trinidad and Tobago has made no such admission and has maintained that it will continue its investigations into the matter.”
The Excise Duty motions were ultimately confirmed in the Lower House around 8pm on Friday evening.