The WET: Is it a Good Drop?
The wine equalisation tax (WET), introduced by the A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999 (Cth), is, in essence, a wholesale sales tax on certain wine containing a specified content of potable alcohol that is sold for consumption in Australia. The apparent fiscal purpose of the Act is to...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Taxation Institute of Australia
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18938 |
| _version_ | 1848749890831646720 |
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| author | Barton, Glenton Morgan, Annette Pinto, Dale |
| author_facet | Barton, Glenton Morgan, Annette Pinto, Dale |
| author_sort | Barton, Glenton |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The wine equalisation tax (WET), introduced by the A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999 (Cth), is, in essence, a wholesale sales tax on certain wine containing a specified content of potable alcohol that is sold for consumption in Australia. The apparent fiscal purpose of the Act is to reduce and recoup the public costs of alcohol abuse. The hallmarks of sound tax legislation are traditionally encapsulated in the tax policy principles of simplicity, equity, economic efficiency and fiscal adequacy. This article explores the extent to which these hallmarks are reflected in the rules of the Act. The authors conclude that the WET is not a "good tax" in light of any of the principles, and its deficiencies raise the threshold issue of whether alcohol taxation is an appropriate way to address the public costs of alcohol abuse. In the authors' opinion, there is no valid argument for its retention. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:28:08Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-18938 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:28:08Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Taxation Institute of Australia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-189382017-01-30T12:10:48Z The WET: Is it a Good Drop? Barton, Glenton Morgan, Annette Pinto, Dale The wine equalisation tax (WET), introduced by the A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999 (Cth), is, in essence, a wholesale sales tax on certain wine containing a specified content of potable alcohol that is sold for consumption in Australia. The apparent fiscal purpose of the Act is to reduce and recoup the public costs of alcohol abuse. The hallmarks of sound tax legislation are traditionally encapsulated in the tax policy principles of simplicity, equity, economic efficiency and fiscal adequacy. This article explores the extent to which these hallmarks are reflected in the rules of the Act. The authors conclude that the WET is not a "good tax" in light of any of the principles, and its deficiencies raise the threshold issue of whether alcohol taxation is an appropriate way to address the public costs of alcohol abuse. In the authors' opinion, there is no valid argument for its retention. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18938 Taxation Institute of Australia fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Barton, Glenton Morgan, Annette Pinto, Dale The WET: Is it a Good Drop? |
| title | The WET: Is it a Good Drop? |
| title_full | The WET: Is it a Good Drop? |
| title_fullStr | The WET: Is it a Good Drop? |
| title_full_unstemmed | The WET: Is it a Good Drop? |
| title_short | The WET: Is it a Good Drop? |
| title_sort | wet: is it a good drop? |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18938 |