Canada’s Beer Excise Escalator: An Economic and Policy Assessment
In this research, we address the impacts on Canada’s beer industry and the economy more broadly of automatic annual increases to federal excise tax rates on beer—the beer excise escalator.
What are the escalator’s policy objectives, and does it meet them? How have federal beer excise revenues evolved over time? How has consumption changed since the escalator was implemented? What are the broader macroeconomic impacts of consumption changes due to the tax? How have the Canadian beer market and the competitiveness of the brewing sector changed?
Read the impact paper to get our full analysis.
Key findings
The role of the automatic beer excise escalator
Canadian brewing industry’s challenging environment
Does the beer excise escalator meet its policy objectives?
Broader economic impacts
Trade-off between policy objectives and economic outcomes
A more flexible, evidence-based excise tax framework
Appendix A: Methodology
Appendix B: Bibliography
