Beer taxes go up this week
Every Australian buying a beer at the start of this week will pay more than they did on the weekend, as taxes applied to cold ones go up for the first time in 2020.
Australians will pay more for beer this week because of a tax increase. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
An automatic levy applied to alcoholic beverages every six months will be updated on Monday.
The money paid per litre of alcohol in individual containers of less than eight litres and more than 3.5 per cent alcohol volume, for instance, will increase from $50.70 to $51.31.
A report commissioned by the Brewers Association of Australia claims that these tax rates stand as the fourth-highest beer tax amid developed countries.
The research results show that after the tax increase Australians will pay in average $2.26 per litre of alcohol.
“A massive 42 per cent of the retail price on a carton of beer is tax,” Brewers Association of Australia chief executive Brett Heffernan said.
“Beer tax has been going up every six months for the last 35 years. This latest slug is the 71st consecutive hike.”
The report elaborated by Professor Kym Anderson from the University of Adelaide compares Australian beer tax with OECD and EU countries.
TAX RATE COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES
* 17 times more than Germany ($0.13).
* 15 times more than Spain ($0.15).
* 7 times more than the US ($0.31).
* 6 times more than Canada ($0.35).
* More than 4 times that of France ($0.50).
* Almost double that of New Zealand ($1.26).
-AAP
