Light beer tax cut could cull violence

Light represents less than 7 per cent of the packaged beer market and has been in freefall for years, with no sign of this trend changing.

Part of the problem is that beer drinkers are switching back towards full-strength (or high-alcohol) beers, particularly the so-called premium beers -- the fastest growing beer category.

Barely one in five male drinkers nominates light as their preferred drink.

At present, the tax on a standard drink of light beer containing 2 per cent alcohol is 19 cents.

This is almost four times higher than the tax per standard drink on cask wine, containing 12.5 per cent alcohol, which is only 5c.

Put another way, the tax on a stubby of light beer is 20c while the tax on a glass of cask wine is only 5c a standard drink.

A change to the tax system -- scrapping the tax on light beer -- gives us our best chance of encouraging drinkers to switch to low-alcohol products.

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