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Surprising Australian town where buying a beer is cheaper as brewers warn tax hikes will soon push the price of a schooner to $12
- Canberra has the cheapest bear at $7.50 a schooner
- Beer prices will rise 3.7% from February 1
- Australians pay the fourth highest beer tax in the world
Canberra has been revealed as the cheapest Australian capital to go out for a beer, with an average price for a schooner at $7.50.
However, brewers warn they will have a hard time not passing the costs on to consumers as the industry faces a tax increase starting February 1.
Beer drinkers will be hit by the second big tax hike in six months starting Wednesday, with some warning the price of a schooner could hit as much as $12 in some areas.
The beer tax is linked to inflation, which earlier this week posted the highest annual jump since 1990.
Increasing for the fourth consecutive quarter, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) experienced a year-on-year increase of 7.8 percent.
Canberra (above) has the cheapest city beer in Australia with attendees paying an average of $7.50 for a schooner.
As a result, beer drinkers can expect the tax on draft and packaged beer to rise 3.7 percent, or about $1.50 more per bar.
It comes after a 4 percent increase in August and brings the total increase to nearly 8 percent in just six months.
Australians now pay the fourth highest beer tax in the world, behind Japan, Finland and Norway.
In a letter to treasurer Jim Chalmers, seen by The Daily Telegraph, the Australian Brewers Association warned the federal government that a schooner could soon cost $12 at a club or pub.
“People are already paying $8 a schooner in parts of Sydney, if this continues to rise like this it will soon be over $12,” Brewers Association chief John Preston said.
The BAA has urged the Albanian government to freeze the tax on beer sold in bottle shops for at least two years, and to halve the beer tax paid on draft beer in club pubs.
The Australian Brewers Association has warned that a forthcoming 3.7 per cent tax increase will make schooners (above) cost $12 in a club or pub
“These are hidden tax increases that have been going up every six months for the last 20 years,” Preston said.
“Record increases are making it harder to get people back through the door.”
Ahead of the expected price increase, NCA Newswire crunched the numbers to calculate the average price of a schooner of draft beer available in pubs, restaurants and bars in Australia’s capital cities.
Beers are cheaper in Canberra, with an average price for a 425ml glass of beer at $7.50, although prices as low as $5.50 can be found in some establishments.
Adelaide claimed the unenviable title of Australia’s most expensive beer, with the average 425ml glass, called a pint locally, costing $9.14.