The association that represents Canadian brewers has launched an effort to try and reverse an inflation-linked increase in beer duty.
In March 2017, Canadian finance minister Bill Morneau announced a 2% increase in tax applied to beer and said that future increases would be tied to the rate of inflation – something Beer Canada said would “continue to drive the tax rate up, unchecked, with no end in sight”.
Beer Canada will seek to reverse the policy with a major new campaign called Axe the Beer Tax.
A new report shows that beer is worth CAD 13.6 billion ($10.95 billion) to the Canadian economy, supporting close to 150,000 jobs.
Beer Canada chair George Croft said: “Imagine being stuck on an escalator going up and up and up, and you cannot get off, and you cannot make it stop – that’s what beer lovers in Canada are facing with this escalator tax. We need people who love beer to help us axe the escalator tax.”
The association represents both small and large brewers which, between them, make up around 90% of all beer volume sold in Canada.
According to Beer Canada, an average of 47% of a bottle of beer is tax with regional variations – that figure is high above 50% in several provinces.
On top of the 2% increase in duty that took effect last March, the first instalment of the country’s new ‘escalator tax’ is due to be levied this spring.
“That means even higher prices for beer in Canada,” Croft continued. “Governments are punishing beer drinkers with these price hikes for no good reason and it’s time brewers and consumers said enough is enough.”
The trade body is encouraging consumers and to sign the petition against what it calls ‘runaway taxation’.
The campaign resembles similar strategies employed by other alcohol trade associations worldwide, including the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) in the UK, in what is a generally high-taxation industry.
Last year, the SWA persisted with calls for relief on Scotch whisky, where tax typically amounts to around 80% of the retail price.
But it appeared to take a slight step down in another fight in November, following the association’s defeat in a landmark battle to halt minimum unit alcohol pricing in Scotland.
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