CONTRADICTORY ROLE OF ALCOHOL EXCISE TAX IN THE TAX SYSTEM OF WELFARE STATE: EU CASE

The authors of this paper draw their approach on the key concept of the welfare state. According to Roosevelt (1910), "The object of government is the welfare of the people. The material progress and prosperity of the nation are desirable chiefly so far as they lead to the moral and material welfare of all good citizens." This target - moral and material welfare of all citizens - should be the essential thing when developing tax policy from the welfare approach. Therefore the present article has focused on the theoretical and practical aspects of both positive and negative roles of alcohol excise taxes in the context of the welfare state. In spite of the harmonization of excise taxes in the European Union (EU), the policy and actions of the national governments on alcohol excise taxes differ, because the need for regulation using this tax is based on factors of social and economic environment in the country. So, systematic framework is necessary to assess efficiency of EU countries governments' alcohol excise tax policy in the context of the welfare state, to determine the role of alcohol excise tax in the structure of the welfare state tax system and to identify key factors influencing effectiveness of alcohol excise tax regulation.