Getting hit in the face twice is better than getting hit four times. But you know what’s even better? Not getting hit at all.
Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recently announced she would increase alcohol taxes by 2% on April 1, instead of the planned 4.7% tax hike.
A smaller tax hike is better, but even at 2%, this year’s alcohol tax hike will cost taxpayers $40 million.
The feds shouldn’t be hiking alcohol taxes at all, especially when businesses and consumers are already struggling with higher costs.
And the government should end the undemocratic escalator that automatically increases alcohol taxes every year without a single vote in the House of Commons.
First passed in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2017 federal budget, the alcohol escalator tax automatically increases excise taxes on beer, wine and spirits every year by the rate of inflation, without a vote in Parliament.
Since then, this undemocratic tax escalator has cost taxpayers more than $700 million across beer, wine and liquor, according to Beer Canada.
If members of Parliament think Canadians aren’t paying enough tax, then they should at least have the spine to vote on the hike. They shouldn’t hide behind an automatic increase that allows them to take more from Canadians every year.
Canadians already pay an arm and a leg in taxes every time they go to a bar or a liquor store.
Taxes already make up more than half the price of alcohol.
Let’s say you’re having friends and family over for a celebration. If you buy a couple of cases of beer, a couple of bottles of wine and a couple of bottles of spirits, you can expect to pay about $210. More than $110 of that is tax.
In fact, Canadians pay five times more tax on a case of beer than our friends south of the border. In Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, the tax on a case of beer costs more than the total price of a case in half of American states.
While Canadians are paying higher taxes, Americans are enjoying tax cuts. From 2017 to 2019, Canadian beer taxes went up $34 million for large brewers while American beer taxes went down by $31 million.
The Ontario government has a similar automatic tax escalator as the feds. But one big difference is that Premier Doug Ford has chosen to continually cancel the government’s scheduled beer tax hikes.
In February, the Ford government announced it would stop its 4.6% beer tax hike scheduled for March. In fact, since 2018, the Ford government has consistently cancelled its scheduled beer tax hikes, providing about $200 million in relief.
“This pause on beer basic tax and LCBO mark-up rates will help make it easier for businesses by providing savings for consumers and helping brewers to reinvest in themselves and their workers,” Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said when making the announcement.
To Freeland and Trudeau’s credit, they are providing some tax relief. The government is cutting its excise tax in half for the first 15,000 hectolitres of beer brewed in Canada.
But that isn’t enough.
The government shouldn’t be raising any alcohol taxes. And it should end its undemocratic automatic escalator that increases alcohol taxes every year without a vote in Parliament.
Franco Terrazzano is federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
TERRAZZANO: Trudeau should end undemocratic alcohol tax hikes
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19.03.2024
Getting hit in the face twice is better than getting hit four times. But you know what’s even better? Not getting hit at all.
Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recently announced she would increase alcohol taxes by 2% on April 1, instead of the planned 4.7% tax hike.
A smaller tax hike is better, but even at 2%, this year’s alcohol tax hike will cost taxpayers $40 million.
The feds shouldn’t be hiking alcohol taxes at all, especially when businesses and consumers are already struggling with higher costs.
And the government should end the undemocratic escalator that automatically increases alcohol taxes every year without a single vote in the House of Commons.
First passed in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2017 federal budget, the alcohol escalator tax automatically increases excise taxes on........
© Edmonton Sun
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