Aussies will be paying more for beer as the government has raised the excise on the beverage for the second time in a year.
A raise in the beer tax by 2.2 per cent comes into effect on Tuesday with the beer tax increasing from $57.79 to $59.06 per litre of pure alcohol.
The increase means drinkers will be paying almost $25 in tax when purchasing a carton of beer, $1.50 in tax for a pint and $90 in tax for a keg.
Aussies will be paying more for alcohol from Tuesday as a recent government indexation increased the beer tax by a further 2.2 per cent and spirits to over $100 per litre (pictured, Prime Minister Albanese)
The second increase has caused the Australian Brewers Association (ABA) to call on the federal government to freeze increases in the beer tax.
They say the tax has climbed by more than 10 per cent since the Albanese government was elected in May of last year.
The ABA’s CEO, John Preston, said Australia’s tax hikes had become out of control and was in need of government help.
‘We don’t believe these increases are now actually raising any more money for the government, they are just hurting beer drinkers and our pubs and clubs,’ he said.
‘While the treasurer inherited these automatic half-yearly beer tax increases, we’re calling on the government to step in and take some action before a trip to the pub or a dinner out with the family becomes an unaffordable luxury for most Australians.’
He called on the government to ‘step in’ and freeze increases in the beer tax as they had already been increased 20 times by the previous Coalition government.
Australians now pay the third largest alcohol tax rate in the world, only beat by Norway and Finland.
A pint of full strength beer will cost about an extra $1, while the price of an average carton of beers will cost around $25 of the standard $50 price-point (stock image)
The tax on spirits is also increasing on Tuesday to a rate of over $100 per litre of pure alcohol for the first time.
The spirit tax was not expected to exceed the $100 per litre rate until at least 2029, with inflation rates exacerbating government indexations.
The increase will mean half the price of the cost of an average bottle of spirits will be attributable to tax.
The Australian Distillers Association’s CEO, Paul McLeay, told 7News that distillers will have to choose to pass on costs on to customers or lay off staff.
‘The producer has to decide, do I pass this on, or do I absorb the hours, and does it mean I have to lay off staff?’ he told 7News.
‘It’s such a tight time for businesses right now, but the one thing the government does have the lever on is this unfair and unsustainable tax.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk