MP Williamson Believes Increase In Beer And Spirits Tax Will Affect Moosehead Brewery

In an interview on Southwest Magazine with Host Vicki Hogarth, MP John Williamson of New Brunswick Southwest expressed disappointment with the Liberal Government for raising taxes on beer and spirits, stating that it will adversely affect Canadians and businesses in Southwest New Brunswick, including Moosehead Brewery. Williamson has criticized the "escalator tax" that mandates annual tax increases on alcohol, regardless of economic factors or the profitability of manufacturers.

"On April the first, and this is no April Fool's joke, there is a regular tax increase that is coming on booze, beer, spirits that is again going to drive up the price of alcohol. So, for example, a twelve pack of beer will go up by a little less than a dollar. And what's really irritating, and I think turns a lot of people off about this, is that this price increase goes up every single year, regardless of economic factors, regardless of how well manufacturers are doing profits. It's just a tax increase," Williamson said in an interview with CHCO TV's Vicki Hogarth.

He further added, "Parliament on tax bills are required to approve a tax increase every single year. A number of years ago, the Liberals broke with convention and put in place this escalator tax mandating that it would increase every single year. And this is just another tax that hits consumers. Of course, this tax was put in place before the current inflationary environment we're in. But it does drive up prices. It makes it more hard, it makes it more expensive for people to enjoy a beer in the summertime or buy a bottle of spirits."

Williamson argued that the tax policy should be changed to allow Canadian exporters, such as Moosehead Brewery, to sell more overseas without being penalized by automatic tax increases that have nothing to do with their bottom line. Moosehead Brewery is the largest Canadian-owned brewery in the country and sells most of its beer into the United States. Williamson stated that the tax increase is particularly harmful to Canadian-owned companies like Moosehead because the taxes go up on their product every year, even if they are selling into the US market.

"Every year, Moosehead beer becomes more expensive compared to all the competitors in the United States, which just makes it harder for Moosehead to sell, which means it's harder for them to reinvest in their operations, to expand their operation, and to give their workers a pay raise. So we should be coming up with tax policy in this country that allows our exporters, whether it's beer or manufacturing or seafood, to sell more overseas and not penalize them with automatic regular tax increases that have nothing to do with their bottom line. It makes it harder for them to operate. The smartest thing Moosehead could do would be to move their operations into Maine," Williamson explained.