Slap in the face for pubs and beer drinkers as beer tax rises
Tap beer prices are about to go up as the Australian Tax Office (ATO) attempts to keep up with inflation.
From 1 February, 2022, the excise duty rate per litre of alcohol will increase by a factor of 1.021, meaning the amount of tax commercial premises and brewers pay per litre of alcohol will increase depending on which product they brew.
A beer between 8 litres and 48 litres where the alcohol volume does not exceed 3 per cent will be slapped with an excise duty of $9.20 per litre of alcohol.
That is a rise of 19 cents over the current duty.
For kegs over 48 litres, which includes most commercial kegs of approximately 50 litres, where the alcohol volume is between 3 per cent and 3.5 per cent, the excise duty will rise to to $28.82 per litre of alcohol.
This is an increase of 59 cents per litre of alcohol.
A full list of excise duty rates for all alcohol can be found on the ATO's website.
According to Chief Executive of the Brewers Association of Australia, John Preston, the industry was concerned about the increase in cost when ordering draught beer at your local pub.
"We are very concerned that on 1 February the Australian Government will hit beer drinkers with the biggest beer tax increase in more than a decade," Mr Preston said.
"It's important to understand that what we are talking about is an increased tax on the tap beer sold in pubs and clubs."
Publicans believe the move is a slap in the face to businesses trying to recover from COVID lockdowns.
"The Government should be doing all it can to encourage people to safely visit their local pubs and clubs, not put another roadblock in the way by increasing beer prices," General Manager of the Tall Timbers hotel in Tasmania John Dabner said.
Irit Jackson, 1st February 2022
