Australia is paying the fourth highest beer tax of the world’s advanced industrial countries, and as of Monday February 3, the beer tax increases again to A$2.26 per litre of beer.

The increase is due to the automatic levy applied to alcoholic beverages every six months for the last 35 years.

A report commissioned by the Brewers Association of Australia, found that Australia is paying 17-times more beer tax than Germany ($0.13), 7-times more than the US ($0.31) and almost double that of New Zealand ($1.26).

“It’s getting to the point that having a beer with your mates is beyond the reach of ordinary Australians,” Brewers Association of Australia CEO Brett Heffernan said.

“By far the biggest cost in the price of a typical Australian beer is tax. It’s not the ingredients, production costs, advertising, transport or even retail overheads and profits… it’s Australian Government tax.”

Heffernan said most consumers are not aware of how heavily beer is taxed.

“Beer tax is now out of control. Simply freezing the six-monthly CPI increases will only lock-in the unreasonably high tax Australians are already paying. The rate of beer tax needs to be addressed if punters are to get genuine relief,” said Heffernan.