Alcohol giant Diageo is making its seltzer with a vodka base.
Mid-strength beer gets a far lower tax rate than spirits, at $51.77 per litre of alcohol. It also gets a 1.15 per cent leeway on alcohol that is not taxed.At half the tax than a spirit-based drink, the incentive for companies to produce a seltzer that is classified as a beer is obvious.
“Firstly, the needs to come from a grain or grain based spirit. So, in our case we use rice to create the sugar.” Mr Clarke said his company's seltzers are a healthier alternative to regular pre-mixed drinks and that he does not consider them as being RTDs.As a passionate craft brewer, he is also aware they are not a typical beer either.“It's a new category of drink, and until something exists for it to be classified as seltzer in the excise regime, it needs to be classified as something.”German supermarket Aldi confirmed to ABC News that the seltzer it sold over Summer was being taxed as a beer.
It is possible that it is being taxed in various ways, depending on its alcohol content and what is being added to the final product. Both Diageo and Sauce Brewing are worried about the potential for wine-based seltzers to enter the market and compete with a lower tax rate.
terminology's a bit weird in this article - 'seltzer' is just soda water, this article is talking about hard seltzer
Prohibition hits the average punter while Meth dealers reap the profits from desperate people looking for a cheap buzz. Welcome to 1920's USA.
Ahhh the govt licking their lips over this tax