Cigarettes Tax Hike, Quebec Tobacco Control

Taxpayers behaving badly will have to pay up. The cost of smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol is rising, a measure that will bring in $536 million in new revenue over the next three years to help Quebec balance its books. Taxes on alcohol are going up by about 25 per cent, while those on cigarettes are rising by 18 per cent, Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau announced. A pack of cigarettes will cost 50 cents more; a case of 24 beers will cost 82 cents more; a 750-ml bottle of wine will cost 17 cents more; and a 1.14-litre bottle of spirits will cost 26 cents more. The higher booze tax will take effect at 3 a.m. Wednesday. Retailers are to begin charging the higher cigarette taxes at midnight Tuesday. Here's how Quebec is increasing so-called sin taxes: Beer and other alcoholic beverages are taxed based on the type of product and on where they are consumed. For beer sold in bars and restaurants, the tax will be 82 cents per litre, up from 65 cents. For all other alcoholic beverages, it will be $2.47 per litre, up from $1.97 per litre. For products sold for consumption at home, the tax will be 50 cents per litre of beer, up from 40 cents per litre. For all other alcoholic beverages, it will be $1.12 per litre, up from 89 cents per litre. The increase in alcohol taxes will bring in an additional $33 million in 2012-2013 and an extra $100 million in each of the following two fiscal years. It's the first increase in taxes on alcoholic beverages in 15 years, Marceau said. After the higher taxes take effect, "the price of alcoholic beverages in Quebec will still compare favourably to those in neighbouring provinces," he noted. It will continue to cost less to buy beer and spirits in Quebec than in Ontario and New Brunswick. Wine costs will remain slightly more expensive in Quebec than in Ontario, the government said.