Antipodean craft brewers in tax tussle

A proposed tax refund for craft brewers in Australia should not be extended to their counterparts in New Zealand, says the Australian Craft Beer Industry Association.

The New Zealand government is lobbying the Australian government to let Kiwi brewers claim up to A$30,000 in excise tax refunds a year, which it claims they are entitled to under the Closer Economic Relationship agreement between the two countries.

As reported by Stuff.co.nz, Australian brewers have been eligible for the refund since 2012 and are currently pushing for a $100,000 rebate to allow breweries to invest in new equipment and staff.

However, the idea that their antipodean neighbours should get the same treatment has not gone down well with the ACBIA, the chairwoman of which, Peta Fielding, has said that including New Zealand, “would not benefit the Australian craft beer industry or economy.”

Bob King, chairman of the Brewers Guild of New Zealand, said the stance was “disappointing” and added it should be a “level playing field”.

He claimed that the rebate would not disadvantage Australian brewers in export markets as New Zealand craft beers would still have to be priced once the additional costs of transport and insurance and so on had been factored in.

King added that despite the disagreement at a higher level there was still a “good camaraderie” at a “brewer-related” level.