The most significant increase to a federal tax on alcohol to date could soon mean that 24-packs of beer will cost around a quarter more to buy in Canada.

According to Sylvain Charlebois, a food distribution professor at Dalhousie University, the “escalator tax” will rise by 6.4% on April 1 unless something changes, like when the federal budget was revealed on March 28.

Overview

According to Charlebois, who spoke with Global News, the tax, implemented in 2017, was designed to increase automatically over time based on the inflation rate to avoid renegotiating it too frequently.

He observed that the tax is now set for its most significant ever increase, considering the level of inflation that Canada has recently experienced. The tax increased by 2.4% in the previous year.

Lager Canada said since the expense is a creation charge forced on the brewer at the point and season of creation, “it is then amplified by different expenses and duties forced by merchants, retailers, and regions, including deals charges,” affecting a 12-pack likely more like 20 pennies.

End Note

Charlebois said that the increase in the carbon tax, which will take effect on April 1 and go from $50 to $65 per metric ton of carbon, could also impact alcohol prices because most producers do not have utterly green supply chains.