Walt & Burley Hotel

Tax relief for Australian brewers and distillers

June 16, 2021
By Ioni Doherty

Additional tax relief for Australian brewers and distillers will be available from 1 July 2021 as the Excise remission scheme for alcohol manufacturers announced in the 2021-22 Budget comes into play.

The scheme means that brewers and distillers will receive a full remission of any excise they pay, up to an annual cap of $350,000.

Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar said that the changes will provide further tax relief for small businesses such as brewers and distillers.

“By continuing to reduce the tax burden on this growing sector, we are supporting small businesses right across the country,” Minister Sukkar said.  

“There are around 600 brewers and 400 distillers in Australia, with the sector employing around 15,000 people. These changes will support the brewing and distilling sector right across the country, creating more jobs and investment.”

The 2021-22 Budget measure builds on and complements the Government’s 2020‑21 MYEFO announcement to allow eligible producers to automatically receive their excise duty remission. This also commences on 1 July and the benefits are twofold: to reduce administrative overheads for these small businesses and to support cash flow concerns.

The Assistant Treasurer said that these changes will bring the Remission Scheme into alignment with the existing Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) producer rebate for wine producers, meaning all alcohol manufacturers are placed on an equal footing.

The new regulations can be found on the Federal Register of Legislation website, and further information on the measure can be found at the Australian Taxation Office website.

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