CTF urges Ottawa to scrap automatic booze tax hike

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to cancel its planned April 1 tax hike on beer, wine, and spirits and permanently end the automatic alcohol escalator tax.

“Canadian businesses and job creators like restaurants and breweries can’t afford a tax hike from the feds right now,” said Carson Binda, British Columbia Director for the CTF.

“With an emerging tariff war, businesses need tax cuts, not undemocratic, automatic tax hikes from Ottawa that make it even harder to keep the doors open.”

The escalator tax, introduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2017, raises taxes on alcoholic beverages every year without requiring a vote in Parliament.

On April 1, the federal excise tax on alcohol is set to increase by 2%, adding an estimated $40 million to taxpayer costs. Alcohol taxes already make up about 50% of the price of a drink when factoring in levies from all levels of government.

According to Beer Canada, the escalator tax has cost taxpayers more than $900 million since it was implemented.

“Automatic tax hikes are undemocratic and wrong,” Binda said. “Instead of making life even harder for struggling small businesses, the government needs to end the automatic tax hikes on beer, wine, and spirits.”