Nearly a third of the price of a glass of beer in a Finnish restaurant or bar goes to taxes. The proprietor typically makes about four cents profit on a 10-euro pint.Marko Hirvonen of Pirkanmaan Osuuskauppa ponder the future at a bar in Tampere. Image: Johanna Erjonsalo / YleYle News16:15Sales of alcoholic beverages at Finnish bars and restaurants have decreased dramatically, both in total volume and in comparison to food sales.Alcohol's share of total sales at licensed restaurants has been steadily declining since the year 2000, says the Finnish Hospitality Association (MaRa).Last year, alcohol only accounted for a little over a quarter of total sales, it estimates. Around the turn of the millennium, it made up more than half of sales.That's the single biggest reason for the precarious financial situation of the restaurant sector in the years since, says Timo Lappi, CEO of MaRa."The big winner is alcohol imported from abroad, both as passenger imports and purchased online," he claims.Walk on by: More consumers are opting to drink at home instead due to high prices at bars. Image: Johanna Erjonsalo / Yle11 tax hikes in 18 yearsSince 2008, Finland's tax on alcoholic beverages has been increased 11 times.The latest hike came at the beginning of this year, when taxes on wines and other fermented alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of over 2.8% were raised by an average of about nine percent.Taxes on all alcoholic beverages were permanently indexed, which automatically increased the taxation of all alcoholic beverages by 1.4 percentage points. From now on, the Tax Administration will confirm the rate annually.A half-litre of lager typically costs around 10 euros at a pub. Of this, about 2.86 euros go to taxes.Image: Johanna Erjonsalo / YleAccording to Lasse Pipinen, CEO of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry, Finland is by far the most expensive country in Europe to drink beer.He compares it to neighbouring Sweden. There, the tax rate on beer, converted to 100% alcohol, is currently 20.7 percent. In Finland, the same figure is 36.7 percent, he says."The taxes are almost twice as high here," he says. "Who would have ever thought that Sweden would be a beer tax haven for Finns?"Alcohol taxes have been raised 11 times since 2008. Pipinen points out that increasing taxes does not directly mean greater revenues for the state."Last year's tax collection fell 100 million euros short of the budget estimate for alcohol tax," he says.Pipinen sees three reasons for the decline in restaurant visits."Household wealth is not high overall, and current purchasing power, despite a slight improvement, is not particularly good. Confidence in the future is also weak," he notes.Restaurants are hoping for 4% profitMarko Hirvonen, group manager for restaurants at Pirkanmaan Osuuskauppa, a regional cooperative in the Tampere area, says that for the average pint buyer, the restaurateur or publican's meagre four-percent profit margin on an expensive pint may come as a surprise – but that it's really tough to even get that nowadays.Pubs and restaurants must draw customers with various attractions and offers as well as an inviting atmosphere."One thing is for sure: you can't compete on price alone. It's always cheaper to drink at home," he says.