Will the budget hurt you?

SOBERING: EXCISE DUTIES ON ALCOHOL GO UP BY 8%

A breakdown of how Tito Mboweni’s announcement affects the man on the street.

Packet of cigs will now cost R1.39 more, with cigars an extra R7.71.

Drinkers and smokers will be paying 8% more for their goods, personal income tax brackets will increase by 5% while the fuel levy will increase for petrol and diesel in the proposed 2021 budget review.

The country’s boozers should expect to pay R5.50 more for a bottle of whiskey while smokers will fork out an extra R1.39 for a pack of cigarettes as excise duties on alcohol and tobacco spike by 8%.

In the 2021 Budget Review by the National Treasury and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, excise duties have again been increased above inflation with the aim of increasing taxes on alcohol to boost tax revenue.

Customs and excise duties are projected to generate R100.5 billion in tax revenue in the 2021-22 financial year.

While booze was banned on and off during the lockdown, increasing alcohol tax was a measure recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reduce overall drinking, which directly impacts health.

“In South Africa, studies have shown the harm generated by alcohol in society and the effect on public health when alcohol sales were restricted,” the review said.

“Government will increase excise duties on alcohol by 8% for 2021-22.

The excise incidence will move further above the policy guidelines for each category.”

How much will drinking now cost you?

Malt beer – 14 cents per 340ml can.

Fortified wine – 44 cents per 750ml bottle. Unfortified wine – 26 cents per 750ml bottle.

Sparkling wine – 86 cents per 750ml bottle

Ciders and alcohol fruit beverages – 14 cents per 340ml can. Spirits – R5.50 per 750ml bottle.

Tobacco taxes

According to the WHO, cigarettes in South Africa are increasingly affordable – being more affordable in 2018 than in 2008.

But an 8% increase in tobacco products tax will be introduced and will affect consumers’ pockets in the following way:

Cigarettes – R1.39 per packet of 20s.

Cigarette tobacco – R1.57 per 50g.

Pipe tobacco – 47 cents per 25g. Cigars – R7.71 per 23g.

The policy framework for both alcohol and tobacco will be reviewed during the 2021-22 financial year.