Australia’s spirits industry is urging the Federal Government to extend alcohol excise relief to spirits and RTDs, following the decision to freeze draught beer tax indexation for two years from next month.
Under the current system, spirits and RTDs face automatic excise increases every February and August, tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
On August 4, this will again raise the tax on spirits, which already stands at $104.31 per litre of alcohol, one of the highest rates globally.
Meanwhile, draught beer will be spared from this routine increase after the government’s announcement to suspend CPI-linked rises for pubs and clubs in an effort to support hospitality venues and their patrons.
Industry groups argue that this selective relief creates a two-tiered system that penalises spirits drinkers and the businesses that serve them.
“This tax hurts our customers and more than 700 distillers across the country who want to share more of our products at Aussie pubs and clubs,” said Cameron Mackenzie, GM of the Australian Distillers Association.
“We want a system that doesn’t favour one drink over another.”
Mackenzie added that local distilleries represent the kind of modern manufacturing the government should support.
“Helping to ease the burden of these twice-yearly tax hikes that act as a handbrake on industry, and punish our consumers, should be a priority,” he said.
Meanwhile, hospitality leaders say equal tax relief is necessary to reflect changing consumer habits.
“Our members support the two-year tax freeze the federal government has applied to draught beer from August, but this relief should be extended to spirits and RTDs served in licensed venues too,” said Mick Gibb, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association.
“This relief should extend to everyone, no matter their drink preference.”
