Tweet Facebook Mail An evening gin and tonic or party-time margarita is set to get more expensive after Australia's spirits tax lifted again today. It's now at $103.89 per litre - the third highest in the world - after the recent six-monthly CPI indexation.
And distilleries, venues, and punters are all set to cop the hit. READ MORE: Australia's terrorism threat level raised to 'probable' The spirits tax has risen to $103.89 a litre.
(Getty) Craig Michael, director of Bellarine Distillery in Drysdale, Victoria, said the tax is now $25 per litre higher than when the company began operations in 2015. "These six-monthly increases are becoming increasingly difficult for our business to sustain, and they are impossible to plan for," he said. "How can we accurately undertake financial modelling and make business decisions if we don't know what tax rate we will be paying in six months' time?" READ MORE: 'Worst season ever': How things got ugly on Greece's 'Instagram island' Producers, vendors, and drinkers will all cop some of the impact.
(Brock Perks) Night Time Industries Association chief executive officer Mick Gibb said the six-monthly tax increases are beating down struggling hospitality venues. "Every time the tax increases, the bar owner has to pay more for the tequila in that margarita, the gin in that martini or the vodka with that soda," he said. "Sometimes venues have no choice but to pass on these costs by increasing their prices.
That ends up hitting the hip pockets o.