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The State Alcohol and Tobacco Company of Iceland (ÁTVR) is a
state owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
company that is the sole legal retail vendor of alcohol in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. It runs a chain of 51 retail stores named Vínbúðin ''(the wine shop),'' known colloquially as Ríkið (The State)''.'' In addition it distributes
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
to other retailers and assesses and collects
tobacco tax Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the c ...
. Iceland has very high taxes on alcohol to curtail consumption and as a government revenue source. Tax rates are proportionate to the
alcohol content Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
. The state run company is under the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...
.


See also

*
Alcohol monopoly An alcohol monopoly is a government monopoly on manufacturing and/or retailing of some or all alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine and spirits. It can be used as an alternative for total prohibition of alcohol. They exist in all Nordic countr ...
*
Prohibition in Iceland Prohibition in Iceland went into effect in 1915 and lasted, to some extent, until 1 March 1989 (since celebrated as "Beer Day"). The ban had originally prohibited all alcohol, but from 1922 legalized wine and in 1935 legalized all alcoholic beverag ...
*
Beer in Iceland Beer in Iceland likely dates back to the island's settlement by Norsemen. In more modern history beer was effectively banned in Iceland for most of the 20th century. Since that ban was lifted in 1989, Iceland's consumption of beer has increased ...


References


External links


Vínbúðin's website
Alcohol monopolies Food and drink companies of Iceland Tobacco in Iceland Alcohol in Iceland Retail companies established in 1961 1961 establishments in Iceland Government agencies of Iceland {{Iceland-company-stub