Alcohol has a new price in Alberta. The new provincial budget imposes a five per cent markup on liquor that went into effect Oct. 28. It is up to the distributors for how much they want to mark-up their products to make up for the increase.
Kyle Baines, owner of Andrew Hilton Wine and Spirits, is not too concerned about the new tax. “It’s a really small increase,” he said. “It’s minimal from what we’ve seen in the past.” He explains that it won’t really affect consumers. The markup on wine will work out to about 18 cents more per bottle and about 21 cents more for a case of beer.
Baines did mention that imported beers from small breweries would get “a kick in the pants.” Prior to Tuesday breweries outside of Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia paid 20 cents a litre. The cost for them has now risen to $1.25 a litre.
The smaller breweries in the western provinces like Big Rock and Wild Rose are happy with the new budget. It imposed a graduated tax on breweries that produce less than 20,000 hectolitres of beer. The previous tax increase had a markup that rose from 20 cents a litre to 51 cents a litre, making it difficult for them to grow their business. Now the smaller breweries can expand without paying tax on all of their volume.
Local restaurants don’t seem to be too concerned about the tax increase either. Trent Munroe, the bar manager at Two Guys and a Pizza place, says he doesn’t think their business will be affected too badly. “The minimum wage going up will have more of an impact on our prices and business than the liquor increase,” he said.
Tim Whitehead, manager at Firestone Restaurant and Bar, also said the impact would be minimal to the restaurant. “Although the increase in liquor cost has been dramatic over the last five years, the current tax will not be too significant,” he said.
Blaine hasn’t seen consumers “panic buying” like they did with the increase earlier this year. It’s the second smallest raise that he’s seen.
The most annoying part for Blaine will be manually changing the price on over 3,000 of his items. He said his accountant would be pulling a little overtime.
