VANCOUVER, B.C.: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to cancel the automatic tax hike on beer, wine and spirits scheduled for April 1 and end the alcohol escalator tax for good. 

“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 was brought in by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2017. It automatically increases the taxes on alcoholic beverages every year on April 1 without a vote in Parliament. 

Alcohol taxes already make up about 50 per cent of the price of a drink when charges from all levels of government are included. The federal excise tax on alcohol is set to increase by two per cent on April 1. The hike will cost taxpayers about $40 million.

Since being imposed, the alcohol escalator tax has cost taxpayers more than $900 million, according to Beer Canada. 

“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.” 

-30-