Wine equalisation tax
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Wine equalisation tax (WET) is a tax imposed on wine made, imported, or sold by wholesale in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It is applied at 29% of the wholesale value of wine.


Background

In Australia, wine is taxed differently to other alcoholic beverages. While other beverages are taxed based on their alcohol content, wine is taxed at a flat 29% rate, which, on a per standard drink basis, generally makes tax on wine less than other alcoholic beverages.


Rebates

A number of rebates are available to wine producers based in Australia and New Zealand, with eligible produces originally able to claim up to $A500,000 annually. These rebates were introduced in 2004 and intended to assist small rural wineries. They were estimated to cost the Australian Federal Budget $A300 million in 2016.


Allegations of rorting

Following allegations of rorting, then Assistant Treasurer
Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg () (born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisio ...
announced in 2015 the establishment of a consultation group consisting of industry representatives to find solutions to the use of "contrived schemes" designed to exploit the rebate.


Reforms

In August 2017 reforms passed the
Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...
which reduced the annual rebate available to $A350,000 and changed eligibility to require wine producers to grow at least 85% of the grapes used in their wine-making process.


References

{{reflist Australian wine Taxation in Australia Value added taxes