Scott Morrison’s Proposed Beer Tax Cut Slammed As ‘Sexist’
Distillers are instead calling for tax breaks to be extended to spirits.
The Prime Minister is reportedly considering throwing beer drinkers a bone ahead of the next election.
He's said to be weighing up whether to cut the excise tax on draught beer after the Australian Hotels Organisation, Clubs Australia and the Brewers Association launched a national campaign to get the tax levy on beer kegs halved from $70 to $35.
The Daily Telegraph reports Scott Morrison is now considering the proposal, which would make beers poured straight from the tap at a pub around 30 cents cheaper.
In response to the news, the chief executive of Spirits and Cocktails Australia, Greg Holland, said the move ignores the choices of '9 out of 10 Australian women'.
"Imagine Scott Morrison or Treasurer Josh Frydenberg walking into a bar and shouting a round of beers for a bunch of blokes, while turning their backs on the women enjoying a quiet gin and tonic or cocktail after work," he said in The Daily Telegraph.
"It would be considered outrageously sexist and out of date - but that is exactly what this proposal represents.
"Why would a Government want to play favourites with a tax break just for blokes and not for women?"
Distillers are instead calling for tax breaks to be extended to spirits.
Figures compiled by Spirits and Cocktails Australia show spirits are subject to $1.10 in tax per standard drink, much higher than wine ($0.23) and full-strength beer ($0.50).
The organisation also noted the tax levied on spirits in Australia is the third highest in the world, behind only Iceland and Norway.
"Additionally, local consumers pay more for spirits than just about anywhere in the developed world," the lobby group explained in its own campaign for a fairer and more sustainable spirits tax.
"Due to our high spirits excise, it is often cheaper to buy Australian products abroad.
"For example, a bottle of Starward Whiskey, distilled in Port Melbourne, sells for just US$50 in the US, while consumers in Australia pay A$95."
Australia's beer tax is said to be the fourth-highest in the world, behind Norway, Finland and Japan.
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