Tax grab to raise the cost of booze

DRINKERS will pay more today for a slab of beer and spirits under an alcohol price hike. But the pain is greater for those who prefer spirits, or pre-mixers.

Beer mugs

DRINKERS will pay more today for a slab of beer and spirits under an alcohol price hike.

Spirit drinkers will have to fork out more than $1 in tax for every drink they down.

And the Abbott Government has added 15c to the cost of a carton of full-strength beer and 5c to a slab of light beer under the twice-yearly “sin tax” increase.

But the pain is greater for those who prefer spirits, or pre-mixers.

A 24-pack of pre-mixed drinks has increased by 35c, bringing tax to $1.48 a can and a 700ml bottle of spirits goes up 21c.

The hike follows another in February, which was the biggest in three years.

In some good news, there is no change to the tax bill beer drinker will be served at their local pub — steady at 4c per pot — and wine drinkers are not affected.

It means customers now shell out $20.80 to the taxman each time they buy a ­bottle of spirits, $15.78 for a carton of full-strength beer and $5.60 for a slab of light beer, Australian Taxation Office figures show.

A carton of pre-mixed drinks contains $35.65 in tax.

In a decades-old system, alcohol excise increases automatically each February and August, meaning the bad news can be left out of the Budget each May.

But Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia spokesman Stephen Riden said tipplers should be questioning the system.

“People accept alcohol should be taxed,” he said.

“But why tax distilled spirits at more than twice the rate of the highest taxed beers?” He said the imbalance grew each year, with the CPI percentage increase always hitting spirits harder.

“Drinkers of pre-mixed spirits and flavoured ciders can work out how much they are paying to the Government by looking at the standard drinks logo on the bottle and putting a dollar sign in front of it,” Mr Riden said.

Originally published as Tax grab to raise the cost of booze