Distillers are anxiously waiting to see how much of a tax hike they’ll be hit with come Tuesday.
The alcohol excise goes up twice a year and already increased by 3.7 per cent in February after reaching record levels this time last year.
Rick Prosser from Kalki Moon says they’re expecting a 4 per cent jump on August 1st.
“It will mean around $26 in each bottle of gin or rum is now excise taxed plus GST on the sale of that product as well,” he says.
“A large proportion of the bottle of alcohol that the consumer buys is now full of tax.”
Levels are tipped to pass $100 a litre of pure alcohol, six years before they were predicted to.
Mr Prosser says isn’t not sustainable for small businesses.
“Years ago the excise rate was $84 a litre and now we’re about to hit $101 just shy of seven years later,” he says.
“Most distilleries throughout the Eastern Seaboard of Australia are mum and dad regional businesses.
“We’re not all based in the city, we’re usually regional businesses that support tourism and the economy with jobs.”
Distillers around Australia are calling for a freeze or a restructure of the federal program.
