The tax on beer is forecast to increase again next week, putting further pressure on beleaguered small brewers – and, potentially, prices at the tap.
According to KPMG data, about 700 Australian craft brewers contribute an annual $1.93 billion to the economy.
They employ more than 10,000 people – more than half (51 per cent) of the entire beer industry.
The number of businesses in the craft brewing industry has surged by an incredible eighty per cent in just the past eight years – but the boom is suddenly deflating, with at least 20 closing in the past year.
Many struggle against the larger breweries, where production costs are cheaper, and the cost of living crisis is squashing Australians’ spending.
Australia now has the third highest beer tax in the world, behind Norway and Finland.
And with another CPI indexation coming on July 31, it seems inevitable it will go even higher.
For smaller brewers to survive, realistically, at least some of that is passed on to the consumer.
Joel Meaney, operations manager at Dad and Dave’s Brewing in Brookvale, Sydney, said about a third of the price on every glass of beer they sold was tax.
(Sources 9 news)
