Mondays and Thursdays are knotted at five. The handful of devoted office pools on and around the Hill got their answer, and the Tuesday gamblers took home the pot.Įighteen budgets since BRIAN MULRONEY took office have been tabled on a Tuesday. WHY TUESDAY? - Freeland slipped her budget date announcement into a brief statement in the House on Friday. Say, BOB HORNUNG of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association and DOUG FORD of Ontario. But listening to the beer buddies Bob and Doug means disappointing somebody else. If it’s off the table, nobody is admitting it. Precious tax revenue can keep the government’s all-important debt-to-GDP ratio in check.Ī freeze on the escalator leaves a lot of revenue on the table for a government bent on increasing health-care spending and unveiling a robust (and expensive) response to JOE BIDEN‘s Inflation Reduction Act. The argument against: Freeland has telegraphed restraint in the budget. (A skeptic would doubt the influence of a committee submitting recommendations less than three weeks before the budget is tabled.) The House finance committee sided with Beer Canada, recommending in a pre-budget report tabled Friday that the budget freeze the excise tax for two years - and until inflation drops beneath 3 percent. Hélie also claims support from New Democrats and a majority of the Liberal caucus. (Kelly also thinks the rate is simply too high.) Kelly’s Bill C-266 would ax the escalator. PAT KELLY opposes the escalator in principle, because it strips MPs of the power to approve tax changes every year. Hélie says officials have heard from more than beer execs - grain farmers have felt the pinch, and workers’ unions are speaking out. Since last spring, the dynamic in Ottawa “has changed 180 degrees.”
#Big business common sense media pro#
Festivals, concert venues and pro sports canceled events. House support: Hélie described several years of conversations with federal officials as “not very productive on either side.” Covid changed everything. The Canadian Craft Brewers’ Association, which shares some of Hélie’s members, wants a re-think of the excise tax structure that’s friendlier to smaller brewers.Įxecutive director CHRISTINE COMEAU‘s solution? A progressive tax scale that would reduce duties for brewers that produce less than 500,000 hectoliters a year. Dueling solutions: Beer Canada president CJ HÉLIE wants the escalator to pause until inflation settles back down to the BOC’s target range - a “very simple, low-cost measure.” The new per-can tax haul rises to 13.1 cents.
A single hectoliter is equivalent to about 282 355ml cans of beers, for an excise tax of roughly 12.3 cents per can. The rate will jump 6.3 percent.įor the last year, brewers have forked over C$34.82 per hectoliter of brewed beer containing over 2.5 percent alcohol. Different times: The next hike is scheduled for April 1. Those were in the halcyon days of price stability, when the inflation rate sat comfortably within the Bank of Canada’s target of 1–3 percent.
Then-finance minister BILL MORNEAU hiked it by two percent and pegged ongoing annual increases to inflation. The government sensed a revenue-generating opportunity, but the doc noted the policy pivot was about more than that: “Excise levies can also be used to achieve specific policy goals, such as improving health.” What’s at stake: The Liberals first increased the excise tax on alcohol in Budget 2017. They’ve got a different argument than the big players - and Impact Public Affairs on their side. The nation’s legions of craft brewers are also mixing it up. Media coverage sure hasn’t been a problem. They say they sense some momentum in advance of the March 28 budget date. Labatt has tapped well-connected consultants at Enterprise Canada, Navigator and GT & Company to work the halls of power. The lobby group also unleashed a meeting blitz on the Hill. Or at least that’s how Canada’s biggest beer lobby wants to frame its foamy fight against an annual tax increase on lagers and ales across the nation.īeer Canada enlisted the services of RICK MORANIS and DAVE THOMAS to reprise the famous lovable hoser duo of SCTV lore for a new ad campaign. Plus, three things we’re watching for the week ahead: foreign interference, committee fireworks and Poilievre’s whereabouts.īEER BATTLE - It’s BOB and DOUG versus JUSTIN and CHRYSTIA. Today, we pour ourselves a frosty pint of pilsner politics. Send tips | Subscribe here | Follow Politico Canada
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