Japan to streamline beer taxes

Japan is looking to streamline its taxes on beer, as the beverage is currently taxed in three categories based on the drink’s malt content.

According to Japan Times, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition government proposed the plan as part of its fiscal 2017 tax reform.

The current tax system in Japan taxes a 350ml can of beer ¥77 (€0.63), ¥47 (€0.38) for the ‘happoshu’ (a lower-malt content beer) and ¥28 (€0.23) for a cheaper beer-like beverage called ‘hodgepodge’.

In Japan ‘beer’ is defined as a beverage that has more than a 67% malt content, otherwise it is be recognised as inferior happoshu and hodgepodge. The current proposal is also seeking to reduce the 67% threshold to 50% to allow more imported beers to be labelled as beer.

In the meantime, the coalition is planning to introduce a single, unified tax of ¥54.25 on beer by October 2026, the report added. This means, tax would spike for happoshu and hodgepodge, which are sold at cheaper prices compared with regular beer. 

Japan, the 7th largest beer drinking country in the world, consumed 2.72 million kilolitres in 2015, a drop from 4.89 million kilolitres in 2001, WSJ reported citing figures from the Brewers Association of Japan.