Producers of artisanal wines and spirits will be subject to a new tax by the federal government, starting next July.
This decision by the Government of Canada follows a complaint by Australia to the World Trade Organization. Although Ottawa has announced a financial compensation program, some producers fear they will be forgotten.
Exempt from excise tax since 2006, Quebec and Canadian wine producers will have to pay it as of July 1. The tax payable per liter of wine with less than 7% alcohol will be $0.33 and $0.69 for those with more than 7% alcohol.
Already faced with rising fuel, glass bottle and labor costs, winemakers will have no choice but to raise their prices.
The pill is, however, harder to swallow for berry and honey wine producers who are not affected by Australia’s complaint to the World Trade Organization. They therefore wonder why Ottawa refuses to exclude them from this measure.
The owner of the Miellerie King, in Kingsey Falls, in the Centre-du-Québec region, and president of the Association of Producers of Meads and Honey Alcohols of Quebec, René Bougie, judges that it is an arbitrary decision that penalizes the smallest producers.
The details of the excise tax financial compensation program will be unveiled in a few weeks, explained the federal Minister responsible for Agriculture and Agri-food, Marie-Claude Bibeau. It is at this time that we will know the types of productions that will be entitled to an amount in the envelope of a hundred million dollars intended for this program.
