Beer and wine tax rise Sue Dunlevy
April 29, 2008 12:00am
A 300 PER CENT increase in beer and wine taxes is being proposed by the Rudd Government's new preventive health taskforce as families battle rising petrol, grocery and mortgage prices.
The call follows the surprise weekend announcement of a 70 per cent tax hike on spirit-based alcopop drinks to combat teenage binge drinking.
Australian General Practice Network chief Kate Carnell yesterday became the second member of the Rudd Government's new National Preventive Health Taskforce to call for punitive new health taxes.
"We believe the liquor excise should be the based on alcohol content not what the drink looks like," Ms Carnell said.
Currently beer and wine are taxed less heavily than spirits.
A uniform alcohol tax rate would increase the cost of a beer by 46¢ and bottled wine by 63¢ a glass.
Taskforce chairman Rob Moodie has previously called for a 2.5¢-per-cigarette rise in the tax on cigarettes to raise $400 million a year for anti-smoking measures.
The suggestions come as Kevin Rudd has ramped up his warnings about the federal Budget, saying the process has been as "tough as all hell" as Cabinet yesterday considered massive spending cuts.
The Prime Minister and his leadership team were locked in a marathon Cabinet Budget session yesterday finalising spending reductions of more than $3 billion for next financial year.
Another series of high-level meetings today in Canberra is expected to formalise the tough measures to be unveiled on May 13.
In a short break from the Cabinet room yesterday, Mr Rudd indicated people should brace themselves for a hardline economic statement on Budget night.
The warning came just days after Mr Swan foreshadowed that the Budget would slash programs inherited from the Howard government.
It is expected major programs in health, defence and social security will be slashed and there will be job cuts to the Canberra bureaucracy.
However Mr Rudd said the Government would do its best to protect low and middle-income earners from Budget fallout.
Mr Rudd said the rising cost of living was one of the prime reasons the Government pushed ahead with $31 billion worth of tax cuts that start on July 1.
A person on an average wage of $50,000 will be almost $20 a week better off under the tax cuts from July. Modelling has shown families on average incomes with very young children will be almost $136 a week better off after the combined impact of tax cuts and the 50 per cent childcare rebate
April 29, 2008 12:00am
A 300 PER CENT increase in beer and wine taxes is being proposed by the Rudd Government's new preventive health taskforce as families battle rising petrol, grocery and mortgage prices.
The call follows the surprise weekend announcement of a 70 per cent tax hike on spirit-based alcopop drinks to combat teenage binge drinking.
Australian General Practice Network chief Kate Carnell yesterday became the second member of the Rudd Government's new National Preventive Health Taskforce to call for punitive new health taxes.
"We believe the liquor excise should be the based on alcohol content not what the drink looks like," Ms Carnell said.
Currently beer and wine are taxed less heavily than spirits.
A uniform alcohol tax rate would increase the cost of a beer by 46¢ and bottled wine by 63¢ a glass.
Taskforce chairman Rob Moodie has previously called for a 2.5¢-per-cigarette rise in the tax on cigarettes to raise $400 million a year for anti-smoking measures.
The suggestions come as Kevin Rudd has ramped up his warnings about the federal Budget, saying the process has been as "tough as all hell" as Cabinet yesterday considered massive spending cuts.
The Prime Minister and his leadership team were locked in a marathon Cabinet Budget session yesterday finalising spending reductions of more than $3 billion for next financial year.
Another series of high-level meetings today in Canberra is expected to formalise the tough measures to be unveiled on May 13.
In a short break from the Cabinet room yesterday, Mr Rudd indicated people should brace themselves for a hardline economic statement on Budget night.
The warning came just days after Mr Swan foreshadowed that the Budget would slash programs inherited from the Howard government.
It is expected major programs in health, defence and social security will be slashed and there will be job cuts to the Canberra bureaucracy.
However Mr Rudd said the Government would do its best to protect low and middle-income earners from Budget fallout.
Mr Rudd said the rising cost of living was one of the prime reasons the Government pushed ahead with $31 billion worth of tax cuts that start on July 1.
A person on an average wage of $50,000 will be almost $20 a week better off under the tax cuts from July. Modelling has shown families on average incomes with very young children will be almost $136 a week better off after the combined impact of tax cuts and the 50 per cent childcare rebate