Mildura distillery a winner in $255 million tax reform

FOSSEY’S Distillery owner Steve Timmis hails a tax break for small distilleries as a win, saying it will allow businesses like his to become “more competitive with the big guys” as the industry recovers from COVID-19.

Member for Mallee Anne Webster celebrated the announcement of the $255 million tax relief package on Monday, ahead of next week’s Federal Budget.

Under the plan, small brewers and distillers will benefit from a tripling of the excise refund cap from $100,000 to $350,000 per year.

According to Mr Timmis, the increase was “a great step forward” in helping businesses regain their footing in the wake of crippling lockdowns, explaining the excise refund cap as “like a tax-free threshold”.

“What’s happened is good for us as a distillery, particularly in a regional place,” he said.

“The government have listened, through Anne and other MPs like her.

“The reaction was swift and exactly what we asked for as a first step.”

However, he said, further tax reform was needed in the distilling industry, which was unfairly taxed compared to other types of alcohol.

“In one standard drink, we pay about $1.11 in tax on that,” Mr Timmis said.

“If that was a glass of wine out of a box, the same strength, we would be paying six cents – for the same amount of alcohol.”

Dr Webster agreed taxation across the liquor industry was “not an equal playing field”.

“The inequity between the taxes that distillers pay for the product that they produce, if you compare it alcohol level to alcohol level to beer, is really outrageous,” she said.

“I am advocating for further changes that reduce the amount of taxes paid on spirits to bring them in line with other types of alcohol.”