Tag Archives: alcohol abuse

No more Australian cheap wine?

Cask wine drinkers be afraid – it seems that the era of cheap wine could be at an end in Australia. Ongoing media reports suggest that the federal government remains under pressure from lobbyists to raise taxes on wine. If this happens it could mean that a four-litre cask (bag in a box) of wine that currently costs around $14 could cost over $50, and the cheapest bottle of wine, $8 to $10.

There seem to be two main arguments for the rise in taxes. The first assumes that cheap wine is the main cause of alcohol abuse and that a price increase would reduce this. The second is that wine is taxed at a lower rate than beer and spirits and that for reasons of uniformity it should be taxed at the same rate as other beverages.

Politicians, who probably never drink cask or cheap wine, will be attracted by both arguments, especially the financial one. As cask wine accounts for some 50 percent of wine sold in Australia, a new wine tax could raise over a billion dollars in extra revenue. Continue reading