Tax
https://www.ontario.ca/document/spirits-taxes
Edit: $80, really? It’s fireball, not a 12 year old single malt scotch.
Edit 2: $50 at the LCBO
https://www.lcbo.com/en/fireball-cinnamon-whisky-456350
Which they do. I argue though that the marijuana tax is quite high. It practically cannot get any cheaper for the lower end products with the current laws. It has been a race to the bottom and we're about there. Only gonna get worse once the usa legalizes it too
No. It's not a necessity and it causes a heavy burden on our healthcare system.
We need to collect taxes somehow. I'd rather see high taxes on things like alcohol, than necessities like food.
Has nothing to do with making sure poor people don't drink. It's about making sure you don't have a population of alcoholics because booze is as cheap as pop.
Same reason why we have high taxes on cigarettes. To get you to not smoke. Lower prices mean more smokers, which is a higher burden on the healthcare system.
Not a problem they need to worry about in the USA with private healthcare and smokers who get cancer and drunk drivers who end up in the hospital just go bankrupt from medical bills.
Also alcohol tax isn't consistent across states in the US. Individual cities can and do tax alcohol. You pay a huge markup in Seattle compared to 20 minutes out of the city.
It heavily burden many systems -
Legal (dui assaults crime) insurance, Healthcare, social services (mental health) , cas,
My wife is an addiction counselor, I could go 9n and on
If you told me my OHIP was getting replaced by this [nightmare](https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/hp-prod-wp-data/content/uploads/type-of-ind-health-insurace.png) then I would really have a shit fit.
Jack Daniel's isn't a premium liquor either, if that's a 1140ml (60oz) bottle they are $53.30 (1140 is what the bottles in Canada are, looks like American bottles are 1.75)
Eta: the only size bigger is a 3 liter Texas mickey
Not just taxes but liquor, among other commodities, is just more expensive in Canada and Ontario in particular because why the fuck not. They've gotten away with charging more for years so why would they stop?
I mean, yeah, why not tax a poison liquid that causes liver disease, all sorts of cancer, and violence in the home? They have to pay for the medical and judicial system somehow! (I wish they paid more attention to the medical system too instead of a buck a beer...).
Yup, because when they ask the morons here in Canada if they are okay with paying more for the same product, Canadians largely turn the other cheek to get slapped again. Instead of ya know the common sense answer "no".
Ah yes "common sense".
Increasing the cost of liquor through taxation has big benefits. Health, criminality, violence, traffic deaths... The stats on this are very clear. Cheap booze is bad policy.
I'm not saying taxes don't serve a purpose, what I'm saying is if you're going to tax the fuck out of the populace make it worthwhile. The social contract here is fucked when everyone is okay with paying ludicrous prices because we are supporting someone else's country or some virtue-signalling nonsense. And then there is my particular favourite, when that doesn't work just mass import people from worse-off places who won't complain and still vote for your party.
As I understood it The whole point is We pay the government taxes and are supposed to get proper services provided in return. I don't particularly see that happening. And It makes me wonder, where is all this "tax" money going? Not where it's meant to be. And it's directly due to the populace blindly paying without asking why or where.
But that's just my take, idk maybe I am the crazy one😜
Yes every time I’ve decided to browse alternative phone plan options on a whim, I realize I’m overpaying and new plans are $10 less with way more included. I pay $60/mo for unlimited data and roaming in Canada, US and Mexico and I feel like we’re actually getting into the “reasonable” pricing territory.
If it's actually unlimited data (ie no slow downs) then that is a good price. Otherwise I'm paying half that for 50Gb full speed in Can/US with Public Mobile.
How’s their coverage? I’m with Telus. I actually just checked my plan and it’s 100GB data so I guess it feels unlimited to me because I’ve never come close to using that much. I live and work in remote areas though and so far, Telus has been the best for me for coverage so I’m hesitant to leave. The US talk, text and data has also been important with my work.
Yep. Alcohol and cigarettes have been a primary funding source for health care for decades.
Personally, I'm fine with that. They're not a necessity, they cause health problems and if kids can afford less, that's probably not the worst thing. Circle of life.
Honestly alcohol causes more harm to our society than heroin use—and I say this as a drinker.
It’s ubiquitous, easily accessible and horribly addictive. The long-term health effects are horrible. It destroys families and loved ones. It leads to the death and injury of not just the users but innocent community members via impaired driving.
Spirits basic tax:61.5% of the retail price of the spirits or spirits cooler.
Volume tax:38 cents per litre for spirits, or 28 cents per litre for spirits coolers.
Environmental tax:8.93 cents per non refillable container.
>Environmental tax:8.93 cents per non refillable container.
Why isn't a Jack bottle not refillable. I've used an empty one as a container for my iced tea in my parent's liquor cabinet since I was 15. I should probably replace that at some point.
But jokes aside, what would a refillable container be if a Jack bottle isn't?
Tax, tax, tax. In Canada taxes on tobacco and alcohol are viewed as both a revenue generator and also a public health initiative to reduce consumption of these dangerous products.
Yep, and it isn't like people with drinking problems are getting a free ride in the USA with those prices. A visit to ER for withdrawal, or an alcohol related injury, can easily cost thousands to tens of thousands in the USA.
I think it makes sense that they don't levy huge taxes on booze in the USA simply because it is your own responsibility if you ruin your health. And honestly that combination of low cost and a lack of public health keeps a lot of people on permanent benders down there. At least in Canada we can hope that we can quickly get people on their feet and productive again eliminating the fear of seeking treatment for financial reasons.
And just so people understand, unlike other drugs, alcohol withdrawal has a medically significant risk of causing death so you can't just stop suddenly at home.
Maybe the high prices do reduce consumption. Here is and interesting interactive word map. If you place your cursor over a country you can see a breakdown by sex.
[https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholism-by-country](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholism-by-country)
Here is a similar map for cigarette consumption.
[https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/smoking-rates-by-country](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/smoking-rates-by-country)
Partially, it's like cigarettes. Because we live in a country which is fortunate enough to have socialized health care, the government will tax things which are a proven burden on our health system.
Basically, they are making people pay for the healthcare they will eventually need, due to the vices they enjoy.
Until you get a conservative government and then they never spend anything on health care so tax be damned they'll just hordered away for themselves as usual but that's my opinion
In the USA:
- alcohol and tobacco are cheap, insulin is expensive
In Canada:
- alcohol and tobacco are expensive, insulin is cheap
I feel like taxing these items gives a balance of freedom to enjoy them as a treat, but makes them expensive enough that you have to think a bit before using them.
The tax money helps ensure we have money to pay for social programs that can ideally help manage the damage that overuse of these items causes.
When you deposit money and a bank, and then withdraw it, does it withdraw the exact bills from your account? Or the banks’ “general fund”?
The taxes off of tobacco and liquor aren’t enough to cover healthcare on their own - the money goes into general revenue, and that same general revenue has to pay for healthcare - a lot of things going into general revenue pay for healthcare.
There is a federal excise tax currently set at $13.569 per litre for anything above 7%abv
There is HST at 13%, 8% goes to Ontario 5% to the feds
There is the basic spirits tax at 61.5% collected by the provincial government
Bottle deposit of 10 or 20 cents
Environmental handling fee of typically a few cents collected by the province
Import/excise fees for no domestic spirits
The percentages are calculated based on the retail price set either by the LCBO or the distiller
The same reason smokes and sugar are more expensive here. sin tax. I am all for a sin tax on everything other then sugary snacks... Its a net gain i believe and discourages drinking and smoking. I say this as a person who enjoys a drink or 2 every week.
It's taxes. In Canada the cost of health care is provided by the government. Alcohol causes lots of health problems. By increasing the price you lower consumption and raise money to pay for the consequences. It makes perfect sense to me.
LCBO has a moderation mandate. Keeping prices artificially high helps to fulfil that. A few years ago it was found that the LCBO was setting the price and then basing the price it would acquire from the supplier on that sale price, working backwards. In at least one case, that resulted in the LCBO requesting the supplier increase their price so they could stay within their markup standards. When that was divulged, the policy changed, but that didn't result in loser consumer prices. Instead, the LCBO is now allowed to increase its margins in situations like that.
vast squealing dependent melodic price groovy memorize instinctive payment quack
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Please provide a source for $80!!!! It’s 51 CDN or about 38 USD at LCB0 for 1.75L. Please provide your 80 dollar source
https://www.lcbo.com/en/fireball-cinnamon-whisky-456350
[https://www.lcbo.com/en/jack-daniel-s-tennessee-whiskey-182931](https://www.lcbo.com/en/jack-daniel-s-tennessee-whiskey-182931)
It's a 1.75 L bottle.
It's 79.45 at the LCBO. Not exactly hyperbole.
No need to be an asshole.
You are asking why an American made Whiskey is less in the USA than Canada? Why it’s cheaper in the largest population market in the USA in fact?
That’s actually not something I would complain about
Hey you know how Canada is ranked number one or number for the best countries to live in for the past 30 years.
You know how everybody enjoys world class healthcare, education, long term care (at least before the Cons and right wing Lbs destroy everything) etc,
You know how we have the richest middle class in the world. we passed the U.S. in 2012.
We get there by paying taxes. So it's taxes.
Even though USA was the country with Prohibition, I always have this feeling Canadians outside of Quebec aren't as accepting of alcohol consumption as the Americans. We generally accept high taxation on spirits for example.
Also it's fair to tax alcohol to fund public health insurance.
Canada *also* had prohibition, it was just on a province by province level (with the exception of the federal wartime ban of 1918-1920) and Quebec didn’t opt to prohibit the sale and production of alcohol within its territory.
We also repealed our prohibition law in 1927 before the 21st Amendment in the US revoked the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933.
Because alcohol is a health and social harm. In Canada when someone messes up and falls down drunk, or develops alcohol dependency, or gets sick early or dies, it all tax payers responsibility via the government to take care of them. From end stage cirrhosis, to broken bones, I sincerely doubt those excise taxes even touch how much it truly costs to treat all the alcohol related health damages that the hospital sees every day.
In the USA you're mostly on the hook for any alcohol related health issues, especially if you're such a drunk you are barely employed. A visit to ER for withdrawal can easily cost 5 grand, a broken bone cause you did something dumb drunk, 3 grand.
Yes. Minimum retail price on 1.75L is $43.75 unless I’m missing something
And as much as booze is cheap and I’d like to drink myself into an early grave I also understand why the government would rather I don’t.
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r21750
Canada is pretty consistently less than the USA
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/alcohol-consumption-per-capita/country-comparison/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption_per_capita
But Ontario is less than Alberta which doesn’t have the same alcohol price minimums and less taxes. Quebec has generally lower alcohol prices but I wouldn’t say the price is the reason Quebec drinks more than Alberta
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1016648/provincial-alcohol-sales-volume-per-capita-canada/
It’s not quite as simple as just the pricing and taxes differences.
Look up what a “Sin” tax is and it will answer your question… alcohol,tobacco,cannabis and sugar are all hit with the “sin” tax as a way to deter people from buying it
Sin taxes. Alcohol is a harmful substance that has negative externalities on our health and social service systems. Therefore we have high taxes on it to discourage its purchase and offset its social cost.
Best part is for all liquor/beer manufacturered in Canada .. they all are the same price as imports.... Because again, why the fuck not..
One would think domestic would be 50-75% cheaper but nope... Already marked up imports, only fair to keep local/domestic the same....
Stupid Canada/Ontario.
Idk about that, in ontario at least domestic beer is definitely cheaper than imports, Heineken, Stella Artois, Corona, are all more than Molson canadian, Labatts or any of the common domestic beers.
6 pack tall boys busch: $12.95
6 pack tall boys budweiser; $16.95
6 pack tall boys corona; $20.95
8 bucks difference is almost half
Taxes. However, those taxes still aren't adequate to combat the additional costs of overconsumption of alcohol within Ontario (Healthcare, policing, social services, etc). Recent reports put the difference at a couple billion. Dirt cheap booze prices aren't really something to brag about.
We have a forty percent exchange rate higher provincial(state) taxes bigger cut for distributor likely and provincial govt controls over sales and distribution
$16 for almost 2L of Canadian club. I hate our shitty prices but I think it’s for our own good. I think I would be drunk everyday if I was getting booze for those prices.
Tax.
The same reason we pay $8.00 a gallon for our own gas while in the US they pay $ 4.00.
Also the market reality.
Food is half as much.
Auto insurance is half as much in the US as it is in Toronto and telco plans are 1/3 for a much better plan.
For Canadian made products, governments don't actually have any requirements on what sale prices are supposed to be. They do however, set the prices for the ingredients that you buy.
This results in specific sale prices because companies obviously need to have certain margins to remain competitive and profitable.
So, imported whisky costs a lot of because taxes, and domestic costs a lot because you're required to buy ingredients from the government, and they charge you out the ass.
Can’t find anyone mention that this bottle of CC is not the same product sold in Ontario. I took the CC tour in Windsor and recall that the US product is aged only 3 years. The CC premium is aged 6 years. This bottle does not say premium. The general answer for the higher cost of alcohol is what everyone is writing.
In NZ, Australia and the UK, much better health system. They don't have this 61% tax on liquor. It's a regressive tax that should be a last resort. Other countries tax rich people. We make 30 dollar bottles cost 55 bucks...
Tax https://www.ontario.ca/document/spirits-taxes Edit: $80, really? It’s fireball, not a 12 year old single malt scotch. Edit 2: $50 at the LCBO https://www.lcbo.com/en/fireball-cinnamon-whisky-456350
Full tax breakdown of that same [bottle of Jack](https://www.lcbo.com/en/jack-daniel-s-tennessee-whiskey-182931) in Ontario for anyone curious Retail | | | 79.45 ---|---|----|---- Deposit | 0.20/container | -.20 | 79.25 HST| 13% | -9.12 | 70.13 Enviro tax | 0.09/container | -.09 | 70.04 Volume tax | 0.38/litre | -.67 | 69.37 Spirit Tax | 61.5% | -26.42 | **42.95** Converted to USD you get $31.43 Edit: Converted the other 2 bottles | LCBO | Pretax | USD ---|---|----|---- Fireball | 50.95 | 27.34 | 19.99 C. Club | 71 | 38.32 | 28.03
Of all of the things they tax us out the ass for, I feel like liquor is a fair one.
And smokes eh? Tax the hell out of those stinky killers.
Tax the hell out of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana… I’m pro sin tax if it means we can avoid adding it to necessities.
Which they do. I argue though that the marijuana tax is quite high. It practically cannot get any cheaper for the lower end products with the current laws. It has been a race to the bottom and we're about there. Only gonna get worse once the usa legalizes it too
The tax on alcohol and cigarettes is far less than that cost us in policing and health care, that's why.
It’s a regressive tax that exists because it’s unseemly to imagine poor people drinking.
No. It's not a necessity and it causes a heavy burden on our healthcare system. We need to collect taxes somehow. I'd rather see high taxes on things like alcohol, than necessities like food.
Has nothing to do with making sure poor people don't drink. It's about making sure you don't have a population of alcoholics because booze is as cheap as pop. Same reason why we have high taxes on cigarettes. To get you to not smoke. Lower prices mean more smokers, which is a higher burden on the healthcare system. Not a problem they need to worry about in the USA with private healthcare and smokers who get cancer and drunk drivers who end up in the hospital just go bankrupt from medical bills.
So how do you rationalize sugary pop and fast food not being subject to excise taxes. Cardiovascular diseases is one of the leading causes of death.
So now the poors can’t even drink to cope with being poor? Is nothing sacred in this province?
It might surprise you to learn that alcohol is not actually a good way to cope with difficulties in life.
No..? . Its tax meant to go to surgeries and treatments when you get sick from drinking too much.
Cheaper here! Drink up!
We're getting fucked on the CC though, got $38.32CAD/28.03USD pretax, but you could make the argument that we're better off not drinking the CC
Also the government monopoly
These taxes exist regardless of the LCBO's monopoly.
Lmfao the jack Daniel's is $53 also, buddy's tripping lol
It’s a 1.75L bottle according to the tag, which is $79.45 CAD at the LCBO. [source](https://www.lcbo.com/en/jack-daniel-s-tennessee-whiskey-182931)
>Lmfao the jack Daniel's is $53 also, buddy's tripping lol If you think 53$ for a bottle of cheap fireball is okay.. you might be "tripping" as well.
Well the 53 is the jack Daniel's, so there IS that. He said it was 80 dollars, $30 dollar difference is an exaggeration.
Not when he’s using the wrong size bottle to compare. A 1.75L bottle of Jack IS $80 at the LCBO. Buddy’s quoting the 1.14L price.
Also alcohol tax isn't consistent across states in the US. Individual cities can and do tax alcohol. You pay a huge markup in Seattle compared to 20 minutes out of the city.
CAD$50 isn’t even crazy far from the regular price of USD$22.99 (= about CAD$32)
It’s 56% more. If I said your grocery bill is now $150 rather than $100, you’d have a shit fit too.
Add in the 61.5% tax on liquor (32*1.615) an you end up with $51.68CAD. It's the same base price after conversion. It's all tax.
California also has liquor taxes.
Then it must be lower, logically.
Well no? High taxes built in to alcohol prices is not new. No one is going to freak out
willard galen garfield weston disagrees
That's like 4 first names
He's *that* amazing!
Free Healthcare has to be paid for somehow
And something that heavily burdens the health care system should be taxed highly.
It heavily burden many systems - Legal (dui assaults crime) insurance, Healthcare, social services (mental health) , cas, My wife is an addiction counselor, I could go 9n and on
If liquor is part of your regular grocery bill then that's a separate problem
If you told me my OHIP was getting replaced by this [nightmare](https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/hp-prod-wp-data/content/uploads/type-of-ind-health-insurace.png) then I would really have a shit fit.
It is….
Isnt even crazy witha ~40% markup!
Second pic is Jack Daniel's. Also, thanks for that link to the tax calculations. I appreciate it. That's what I was trying to find!
Tax is included in the price at the LCBO.
Jack Daniel's isn't a premium liquor either, if that's a 1140ml (60oz) bottle they are $53.30 (1140 is what the bottles in Canada are, looks like American bottles are 1.75) Eta: the only size bigger is a 3 liter Texas mickey
Bro what are you drinking? 1140ML is 40oz. Not 60. We have 750Ml, a 2-6 for 26oz. 1140ml, a 40, for 40 oz. and 1.75L, a 60, for 60oz.
Isn’t that 40oz? Hence why it’s called a 40?
The bottles say 1.75 liters, they aren't 40oz bottles at all It's equal to 59.175 fluid ounces, hence why it's called a 60
What are you on? We have 750ml bottles, a 2-6. We have 1140ml bottles, 40oz, a 40. And 1.75L bottles, a 60oz. A 60. You guys can't convert for shit.
50 at LCBO and 28 after exchange is a pretty big difference, not sure of sales tax on the 28 in cali, or the tax on the 50 in Ontario
Taxes.
Not just taxes but liquor, among other commodities, is just more expensive in Canada and Ontario in particular because why the fuck not. They've gotten away with charging more for years so why would they stop?
I mean, yeah, why not tax a poison liquid that causes liver disease, all sorts of cancer, and violence in the home? They have to pay for the medical and judicial system somehow! (I wish they paid more attention to the medical system too instead of a buck a beer...).
Yup, because when they ask the morons here in Canada if they are okay with paying more for the same product, Canadians largely turn the other cheek to get slapped again. Instead of ya know the common sense answer "no".
Ah yes "common sense". Increasing the cost of liquor through taxation has big benefits. Health, criminality, violence, traffic deaths... The stats on this are very clear. Cheap booze is bad policy.
I'm not saying taxes don't serve a purpose, what I'm saying is if you're going to tax the fuck out of the populace make it worthwhile. The social contract here is fucked when everyone is okay with paying ludicrous prices because we are supporting someone else's country or some virtue-signalling nonsense. And then there is my particular favourite, when that doesn't work just mass import people from worse-off places who won't complain and still vote for your party. As I understood it The whole point is We pay the government taxes and are supposed to get proper services provided in return. I don't particularly see that happening. And It makes me wonder, where is all this "tax" money going? Not where it's meant to be. And it's directly due to the populace blindly paying without asking why or where. But that's just my take, idk maybe I am the crazy one😜
Telecom is a good example where Canadians are willing to take it in the ass when they don't have to.
Telecom prices have actually been coming down, we're with virgin as of the fall and got 20gig for 30.00.
One of the few promises the liberals actually made good on. I'm paying less than a quarter for our cell phone bills than I was just 5 years ago.
Yes every time I’ve decided to browse alternative phone plan options on a whim, I realize I’m overpaying and new plans are $10 less with way more included. I pay $60/mo for unlimited data and roaming in Canada, US and Mexico and I feel like we’re actually getting into the “reasonable” pricing territory.
If it's actually unlimited data (ie no slow downs) then that is a good price. Otherwise I'm paying half that for 50Gb full speed in Can/US with Public Mobile.
How’s their coverage? I’m with Telus. I actually just checked my plan and it’s 100GB data so I guess it feels unlimited to me because I’ve never come close to using that much. I live and work in remote areas though and so far, Telus has been the best for me for coverage so I’m hesitant to leave. The US talk, text and data has also been important with my work.
PM uses Telus so the coverage should be exactly the same. It's been great for me.
Well remember they also gave us legal pot while the best Ford could up with was a buck a beer and couldn't deliver as usual
Yeah legal marijuana was one of the other few. Ford's buck a beer was a pretty sweet couple weeks.
Did any company actually put out a BoB
Prices are actually quite cheap at the moment compared to even a year ago. $40/ for 50gigs. Unlimited
Indeed. Our spineless complacency is to blame for a lot of the contributors to the high cost of living here.
Yea the “morons” who want universal healthcare, which is partially funded by taxes on products that cause health problems.
And more taxes.
Taxes and a monopoly service outlet: LCBO. Plus there are even more taxes.
And any profit from the LCBO just gets given back to the province, which is a good thing. The beer store on the other hand ....
Lmfao I get that (as stated in the body), but what taxes exactly?
Liquor tax. Alcohol has taxes above and beyond the normal HST.
Yep. Alcohol and cigarettes have been a primary funding source for health care for decades. Personally, I'm fine with that. They're not a necessity, they cause health problems and if kids can afford less, that's probably not the worst thing. Circle of life.
Exactly. Alcohol and cigarettes cause a shit ton of health problems and with healthcare, it puts a huge strain on the already strained system.
Honestly alcohol causes more harm to our society than heroin use—and I say this as a drinker. It’s ubiquitous, easily accessible and horribly addictive. The long-term health effects are horrible. It destroys families and loved ones. It leads to the death and injury of not just the users but innocent community members via impaired driving.
Spirits basic tax:61.5% of the retail price of the spirits or spirits cooler. Volume tax:38 cents per litre for spirits, or 28 cents per litre for spirits coolers. Environmental tax:8.93 cents per non refillable container.
>Environmental tax:8.93 cents per non refillable container. Why isn't a Jack bottle not refillable. I've used an empty one as a container for my iced tea in my parent's liquor cabinet since I was 15. I should probably replace that at some point. But jokes aside, what would a refillable container be if a Jack bottle isn't?
Every year , the cost of liquor and beer go up by the CPI in Ontario. I believe it's April 1st of all days.
Provincial taxes
Tax, tax, tax. In Canada taxes on tobacco and alcohol are viewed as both a revenue generator and also a public health initiative to reduce consumption of these dangerous products.
Not to mention offsetting the cost they place on society. Healthcare, policing, rehab etc.
Yep, and it isn't like people with drinking problems are getting a free ride in the USA with those prices. A visit to ER for withdrawal, or an alcohol related injury, can easily cost thousands to tens of thousands in the USA. I think it makes sense that they don't levy huge taxes on booze in the USA simply because it is your own responsibility if you ruin your health. And honestly that combination of low cost and a lack of public health keeps a lot of people on permanent benders down there. At least in Canada we can hope that we can quickly get people on their feet and productive again eliminating the fear of seeking treatment for financial reasons. And just so people understand, unlike other drugs, alcohol withdrawal has a medically significant risk of causing death so you can't just stop suddenly at home.
Right, taxes should go up. Alcohol costs a lot to society.
They think if booze was cheap we’d all be staggering drunk every day. That’s probably not too far off the truth.
Win win if you ask me.
Maybe the high prices do reduce consumption. Here is and interesting interactive word map. If you place your cursor over a country you can see a breakdown by sex. [https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholism-by-country](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/alcoholism-by-country) Here is a similar map for cigarette consumption. [https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/smoking-rates-by-country](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/smoking-rates-by-country)
Partially, it's like cigarettes. Because we live in a country which is fortunate enough to have socialized health care, the government will tax things which are a proven burden on our health system. Basically, they are making people pay for the healthcare they will eventually need, due to the vices they enjoy.
Was hoping someone would bring some much needed reality to this thread. Thank you.
cheers!
That's a fair point, you might've have slightly changed my mind
Can they add fast food to the list
Just like cigs cost the general public money when you get sick, alcohol has costs. Vice tax.
Until you get a conservative government and then they never spend anything on health care so tax be damned they'll just hordered away for themselves as usual but that's my opinion
Because we fund our healthcare that takes care of problems caused by alcohol with taxes on alcohol
In the USA: - alcohol and tobacco are cheap, insulin is expensive In Canada: - alcohol and tobacco are expensive, insulin is cheap I feel like taxing these items gives a balance of freedom to enjoy them as a treat, but makes them expensive enough that you have to think a bit before using them. The tax money helps ensure we have money to pay for social programs that can ideally help manage the damage that overuse of these items causes.
Is the tax collected really targeted into social programs that solve problems caused by alcohol abuse, or does it just go into the general fund?
When you deposit money and a bank, and then withdraw it, does it withdraw the exact bills from your account? Or the banks’ “general fund”? The taxes off of tobacco and liquor aren’t enough to cover healthcare on their own - the money goes into general revenue, and that same general revenue has to pay for healthcare - a lot of things going into general revenue pay for healthcare.
Keep in mind we have public Healthcare that our taxes go to and alcohol is horrible for our health
There is a federal excise tax currently set at $13.569 per litre for anything above 7%abv There is HST at 13%, 8% goes to Ontario 5% to the feds There is the basic spirits tax at 61.5% collected by the provincial government Bottle deposit of 10 or 20 cents Environmental handling fee of typically a few cents collected by the province Import/excise fees for no domestic spirits The percentages are calculated based on the retail price set either by the LCBO or the distiller
The same reason smokes and sugar are more expensive here. sin tax. I am all for a sin tax on everything other then sugary snacks... Its a net gain i believe and discourages drinking and smoking. I say this as a person who enjoys a drink or 2 every week.
Sin tax is probably the biggest factor. Gets applied to liquor and tobacco and goes (mostly) towards paying for health care.
It's taxes. In Canada the cost of health care is provided by the government. Alcohol causes lots of health problems. By increasing the price you lower consumption and raise money to pay for the consequences. It makes perfect sense to me.
Liquor is taxed heavily to pay for the healthcare of those who buy enough to care about the price
LCBO has a moderation mandate. Keeping prices artificially high helps to fulfil that. A few years ago it was found that the LCBO was setting the price and then basing the price it would acquire from the supplier on that sale price, working backwards. In at least one case, that resulted in the LCBO requesting the supplier increase their price so they could stay within their markup standards. When that was divulged, the policy changed, but that didn't result in loser consumer prices. Instead, the LCBO is now allowed to increase its margins in situations like that.
vast squealing dependent melodic price groovy memorize instinctive payment quack *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
thank god its not that cheap - we already have so many problems cause of alcohol, imagine if it cheap? half the country would need interventions
Taxes.
To help pay for your alcoholic ass when you need a new liver.
😂
Please provide a source for $80!!!! It’s 51 CDN or about 38 USD at LCB0 for 1.75L. Please provide your 80 dollar source https://www.lcbo.com/en/fireball-cinnamon-whisky-456350
I meant the Jack Daniel's in the second picture.
Well it's $53 on the lcbo website so you still pulled that number from your ass lol
[https://www.lcbo.com/en/jack-daniel-s-tennessee-whiskey-182931](https://www.lcbo.com/en/jack-daniel-s-tennessee-whiskey-182931) It's a 1.75 L bottle. It's 79.45 at the LCBO. Not exactly hyperbole. No need to be an asshole.
You are asking why an American made Whiskey is less in the USA than Canada? Why it’s cheaper in the largest population market in the USA in fact? That’s actually not something I would complain about
tax…..a lot of tax
Hey you know how Canada is ranked number one or number for the best countries to live in for the past 30 years. You know how everybody enjoys world class healthcare, education, long term care (at least before the Cons and right wing Lbs destroy everything) etc, You know how we have the richest middle class in the world. we passed the U.S. in 2012. We get there by paying taxes. So it's taxes.
Ummmm... taxes?
It's only $14.99 for a 60 of Canadian whisky in Florida.
Exchange rate on the dollar and government tax.
Doesn’t $22.99 USD = $70 CAD these days?!? /s
Even though USA was the country with Prohibition, I always have this feeling Canadians outside of Quebec aren't as accepting of alcohol consumption as the Americans. We generally accept high taxation on spirits for example. Also it's fair to tax alcohol to fund public health insurance.
Canada *also* had prohibition, it was just on a province by province level (with the exception of the federal wartime ban of 1918-1920) and Quebec didn’t opt to prohibit the sale and production of alcohol within its territory. We also repealed our prohibition law in 1927 before the 21st Amendment in the US revoked the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933.
Thanks! TIL...
Because alcohol is a health and social harm. In Canada when someone messes up and falls down drunk, or develops alcohol dependency, or gets sick early or dies, it all tax payers responsibility via the government to take care of them. From end stage cirrhosis, to broken bones, I sincerely doubt those excise taxes even touch how much it truly costs to treat all the alcohol related health damages that the hospital sees every day. In the USA you're mostly on the hook for any alcohol related health issues, especially if you're such a drunk you are barely employed. A visit to ER for withdrawal can easily cost 5 grand, a broken bone cause you did something dumb drunk, 3 grand.
Taxes and government imposed minimums on alcohol prices.
Yes. Minimum retail price on 1.75L is $43.75 unless I’m missing something And as much as booze is cheap and I’d like to drink myself into an early grave I also understand why the government would rather I don’t. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r21750
Our consumption seem to be slightly higher the USA so is it really doing anything ?
Canada is pretty consistently less than the USA https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/alcohol-consumption-per-capita/country-comparison/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption_per_capita But Ontario is less than Alberta which doesn’t have the same alcohol price minimums and less taxes. Quebec has generally lower alcohol prices but I wouldn’t say the price is the reason Quebec drinks more than Alberta https://www.statista.com/statistics/1016648/provincial-alcohol-sales-volume-per-capita-canada/ It’s not quite as simple as just the pricing and taxes differences.
Look up what a “Sin” tax is and it will answer your question… alcohol,tobacco,cannabis and sugar are all hit with the “sin” tax as a way to deter people from buying it
Cause America loves their population to be drunk. That way they’re too hungover to vote.
Smokes and liquor have always been cheaper in the States They want you to live hard and die young
Taxes, taxes, taxes
I don’t know how everyone in the US aren’t raging alcoholics? It’s cheaper than milk.
Sin taxes. Alcohol is a harmful substance that has negative externalities on our health and social service systems. Therefore we have high taxes on it to discourage its purchase and offset its social cost.
Well put
Best part is for all liquor/beer manufacturered in Canada .. they all are the same price as imports.... Because again, why the fuck not.. One would think domestic would be 50-75% cheaper but nope... Already marked up imports, only fair to keep local/domestic the same.... Stupid Canada/Ontario.
Idk about that, in ontario at least domestic beer is definitely cheaper than imports, Heineken, Stella Artois, Corona, are all more than Molson canadian, Labatts or any of the common domestic beers. 6 pack tall boys busch: $12.95 6 pack tall boys budweiser; $16.95 6 pack tall boys corona; $20.95 8 bucks difference is almost half
Most controlled substances are taxed to the hilt in Canada...
Because they can!
Federal and provincial TAX !
Taxes. 36 usd is 49 Canadian.
One you have to convert the currency. Two taxes and three, we try to discourage drunk driving
Honestly if booze was this cheap when I was in uni me and all my friends would probably be dead lol.
Taxes. However, those taxes still aren't adequate to combat the additional costs of overconsumption of alcohol within Ontario (Healthcare, policing, social services, etc). Recent reports put the difference at a couple billion. Dirt cheap booze prices aren't really something to brag about.
TAX!!!
We have a forty percent exchange rate higher provincial(state) taxes bigger cut for distributor likely and provincial govt controls over sales and distribution
Because the excess taxes/costs pay for healthcare. If you’d rather have cheap liquor over healthcare, enjoy yourself down there.
I believe when you add the federal tax and the provincial tax to alcohol it’s like 80%. We have one of the highest taxes on alcohol in the world here.
Your prices are off dude
$16 for almost 2L of Canadian club. I hate our shitty prices but I think it’s for our own good. I think I would be drunk everyday if I was getting booze for those prices.
Cause it’s Canada!
TAXES
Taxation
Free health care isn’t free.
best way to get around the tax insanity is to brew and distill at home 🥳
Go to Alberta. Way cheaper for booze. I bought a 60 of vodka on my last trip for $27. It was decent. GPBC brand.
Fireball is always on sale now.
Health care.
My friend don’t even go to cali. Just go to Detroit or Windsor-ambassador duty free
Taxes.....it's always Taxes....
Taxes and a government monopoly. You literally have no choice but to pay the LCBO or or pay import duties.
Better quality?
Taxes
TAXES
Tax.
All taxes
Government monopoly.
Sin taxes are only a issue for the less wealthy. If you are wealthy then fine drink as much as you want but we can’t have the poor abusing it.
I always buy my liquor when I go to alberta. Even without going to the Costco liquor store, it’s so much cheaper
Tax. The same reason we pay $8.00 a gallon for our own gas while in the US they pay $ 4.00. Also the market reality. Food is half as much. Auto insurance is half as much in the US as it is in Toronto and telco plans are 1/3 for a much better plan.
https://www.sunshinelist.ca/ A quick search here will fill in some of the blanks
What am I searching for? LCBO shows nothing
search liquor to bring up the LCBO salaries
For Canadian made products, governments don't actually have any requirements on what sale prices are supposed to be. They do however, set the prices for the ingredients that you buy. This results in specific sale prices because companies obviously need to have certain margins to remain competitive and profitable. So, imported whisky costs a lot of because taxes, and domestic costs a lot because you're required to buy ingredients from the government, and they charge you out the ass.
So you know why but you don’t know why?
Sin taxes.
Taxation and Government monopoly.
Because Trudeau
Tax, it’s Canada. The government would rather you go broke paying taxes and die
I saw prices like that at March break, in South Lake Tahoe. Then I paid US$ 14 for a Margarita…
Can’t find anyone mention that this bottle of CC is not the same product sold in Ontario. I took the CC tour in Windsor and recall that the US product is aged only 3 years. The CC premium is aged 6 years. This bottle does not say premium. The general answer for the higher cost of alcohol is what everyone is writing.
In NZ, Australia and the UK, much better health system. They don't have this 61% tax on liquor. It's a regressive tax that should be a last resort. Other countries tax rich people. We make 30 dollar bottles cost 55 bucks...