Cheers! Feds offer tax relief to beer makers

The federal government is offering some tax relief to the beer industry in Canada.

The inflation-indexed alcohol tax increase will be held at no more than two percent for the next two years.

The tax was put in place in 2017, and was set to increase by 4.7 percent next month.

Restauranteurs across the country warned about the potential consequences of sticking to the original tax numbers.

"Any increase at this very vulnerable time for our industry is just another blow while we're down," said Brenda O'Reilly, the owner of multiple restaurants and a brewery in St. John's, N.L, in a 2023 interview with The Canadian Press.

"It's like death by a thousand cuts."

As well, tax relief is now in place on each brewer's first 15 hundred hectolitres.

That will be a 80 to 90 per cent tax rate reduction.

Rising inflation has taken a swig out of profits, and industry association "Beer Canada" says this will offer significant relief.

With files from The Canadian Press