（By River）Starting August 1, tax cuts on alcohol take effect. For Canadians, this means a tax relief on spirits, ciders, and ready-to-drink beverages, and new support for microbreweries. These changes are enacted in an effort to protect local producers from the impacts of ongoing trade tensions globally.
The Ministry of Finance has said in a statement to CTV News Toronto that “the cuts include a 50 per cent reduction in the spirits basic tax rate for distilleries with on-site retail sales, a nearly 50 per cent cut to LCBO markups on cider, and reduced markups for wine- and spirit-based ready-to-drink beverages with alcohol content under 7.1 per cent.” The markup on spirit-based ready-to-drink products previously sat as high as 97 per cent. It will now drop to around 48 per cent.
These changes, as the largest alcohol tax cut in decades, mark a significant moment for the province’s beer industry. This reduction on the profits made by taxes on LCBO products may, but will not necessarily result in a direct reduction in prices, however local breweries which have been struggling admits trade tensions, will benefit.
