Alcohol tax causes policy headache

A row over how alcohol is taxed has deepened after a report by the Parliamentary Budget Office revealed the vastly different levies applied to wine, spirits and beer. The report released on Wednesday shows the effective tax rate on the alcohol content in niche craft beers can be as low as $1.71, while the effective rate on a $40 bottle of wine is much higher at $45.55 a litre. The tax on spirits and commercially produced beer is higher still.