If exempting Canadian wines from the tax since 2006 didn’t lead to hordes of winos taking over our streets, surely we could have simply reduced the taxes imposed on wine from Australia and elsewhere. The federal government would certainly lose some tax revenue, but it would still collect GST on every bottle sold and the provinces impose their own taxes and markups on alcohol, which would remain unaffected. There’s little doubt that removing the tax on Canadian wines has helped the domestic industry, which grew from 300 producers in 2006, to around 700 today. And while those producers would be hurt either way, they would be far better off if the government didn’t up their taxes. It is understandable that the government wouldn’t want to lose one of its income streams in this time of historical deficits and debt.

Source: National Post August 01, 2020 10:05 UTC