Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to freeze taxes on beers poured at pubs, signaling the approach of the upcoming Federal Election. Currently, the excise on beer and spirits rises twice a year, in February and August, in line with inflation. However, if re-elected in the yet-to-be-announced federal election, Labor will pause the biannual indexation of the draught beer excise for two years.
Punters and publicans have spoken out about beer tax. (A Current Affair)The latest alcohol excise increase, of between 2 to 3 per cent, took effect on February 3.Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the pause as a "modest change"."But it will help take a little bit of the pressure off beer drinkers, brewers and bars," Chalmers said.Meanwhile, Albanese said it was a "common sense measure"."My government is building Australia's future and to do that we need to support our small and medium local businesses to thrive," Albanese said."Freezing the excise on draught beer is a common sense measure that is good for beer drinkers, good for brewers and good for pubs."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement this morning at a luncheon in the Victorian capital. (9News)The move however fell flat for spirits producers and drinkers along with the entire distilling supply chain.Spirits & Cocktails Australia chief executive Greg Holland said there was no policy rationale to support a freeze on draught beer alone."The tax on spirits is already three times higher than it is on beer. Freezing draught beer excise alone is discriminatory in every sense – it favours beer drinkers over spirit drinkers, brewers over distillers, and pubs over bars," he said.Australian Distillers Association chief executive Paul McLeay said it was "disappointing" to see the government's "favouritism of the beer sector"."This policy has put a dampener on last week's announcement of a $50,000 increase to the remission," he said.The alcohol tax is a revenue stream that brings in millions of dollars for the government.