True luxury has never been about excessive consumption; it is about choosing with discernment what honors time, craftsmanship, and the soil. As Mexico’s Congress receives the 2027 Economic Package, public debate once again centers on sweeping tax increases that threaten to group artisanal spirits together with industrial, high-sodium, and mass-market goods. In the world of fine spirits, continuing to tax market value under the traditional Ad Valorem scheme does not curb alcohol abuse; ironically, it penalizes craftsmanship and excellence.
When acquiring an exceptional bottle of 100% blue agave tequila—whether an expressive, terroir-driven blanco or an extra añejo patiently aged in oak—over half of its retail price already stems from the current 53% IEPS excise tax compounded with VAT. Taxing the bottle’s price tag means penalizing years of meticulous field labor in the agave valleys, artisanal glassware design, and slow distillation. A cheap, low-grade industrial spirit pays negligible tax, while a masterpiece of Mexican heritage carries an exorbitant fiscal burden simply for being well-crafted.
This is precisely why the position championed by the National Chamber of the Tequila Industry (CNIT), the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), and traditional mezcal producers is not only sound, but imperative: adopting an Ad Quantum framework. This system, recognized globally by health authorities such as the WHO, taxes the specific volume of pure alcohol rather than the commercial shelf price. The logic is crystal clear: a standard pour of ultra-premium tequila contains the exact same amount of alcohol as a low-end pour, yet our current fiscal system penalizes the premium bottle unfairly.
While industrial beer conglomerates predictably lobby against uniform excise adjustments to safeguard high-volume margins, the true policy priority must be public health, fiscal fairness, and cultural preservation. An Ad Quantum model levels the playing field. It halts the distortion where steep tax burdens push prices to extremes, shrinking formal craft markets and inadvertently fueling informal, illicit, or counterfeit spirits that endanger consumer safety and rural livelihoods.
Through the lens of modern lifestyle and high-end mixology, taxing quality discourages moderation and sophistication. Our culture does not need people drinking less for more; it needs educated connoisseurs who drink better, honoring the ritual, proper glassware, and the nuanced botanicals of cooked agave. If fiscal policy genuinely seeks health awareness and transparent revenue, it must target the actual ethanol consumed rather than penalizing the value created by our Denominations of Origin.
Supporting the CNIT and CRT in this fiscal debate is an act of safeguarding an industry that elevates Mexico across the finest bars in Tokyo, London, and New York. Tequila is neither a generic commodity nor an everyday industrial byproduct; it is liquid heritage, geography, and living culture. Protecting its fiscal equity ensures that our bottles will continue to tell the story of our terroir with unmatched elegance.
