Tony Clement says a beer tax increase scheduled for April will impact breweries in Muskoka. The Parry Sound-Muskoka MP says the Liberal government’s two per cent hike in the alcohol excise tax will not only hurt the craft brewing industry, but also local jobs.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance says the annual increase will coincide with Canada’s inflation rate and adds five cents to a case of 24 beers. Clement says the increase is simply a tax grab that is now implemented automatically.
The current 47 per cent excise tax applies to all alcohol products sold in Canada including domestic and imported beer.
(Filed by: Tom Mangos)