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As of July 1, consumer taxes have replaced some manufacturers’ fees paid by Ontario breweries and wineries.

Administered by the Ministry of Revenue, these ‘beer and wine taxes’ are included in the price suppliers charge licensed establishments.  Licensees are not required to remit the taxes directly to the province.  However, they must make information available to customers, on request, about the beer and wine taxes included in the product price.

Licensees should also be aware of the following:

   1. As they already include LCBO markups, wine, wine coolers and some beers sold by licensed establishments are not subject to the beer and wine taxes.  These products include:

- wine, wine coolers and beer purchased from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO);

- wine and wine coolers purchased from a winery retail store under the LCBO’s Direct Delivery program; and

- beer purchased from The Beer Store that is not made by an Ontario beer manufacturer.

   2. Beer manufactured in Ontario and purchased from The Beer Store or a brewer’s retail store have amounts equal to the beer taxes included in the licensee purchase price.  Beer taxes are included in Ontario-manufactured beer sold to consumers. 

Additional resources

Resources and tools are available from the Ontario Ministry of Revenue to help licensees and customers understand the changes:

    * Quick facts about the beer tax
      Click here for general information about the beer and wine taxes for licensed establishments.

    * Tax bulletin
      Click here (PDF) to learn more about ways to inform patrons about the amount of beer tax included in the Ontario-manufactured beer they purchase from you.

CRFA will update this list as tools become available.  For more information, visit the Ministry of Revenue website at www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/index.html