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http://www.healthnews.infoxchange.ne...ame_num=269334
The Federal Government’s so called ‘alcopop tax’ is to be scrapped after the Senate voted against it on Wednesday night.
The tax on premixed alcoholic beverages has been heralded by many health and welfare groups as an effective measure in the fight against binge and underage drinking, however it failed to win majority support in the Senate with Family First Senator Steve Fielding joining the Coalition in voting down the bill.
While the tax has been in place since April last year, it needed the vote of the Senate to give it final approval, and the Federal Government is now faced with handing back the $300 million dollars in taxes it has collected from the tax over the past 12 months.
The government will also be unable to deliver $50 million dollars in anti-binge drinking measures which were included in the bill.
The opposition’s Peter Dutton defended the vote saying that the bill was “a tax grab dressed up as a health measure”.
Meanwhile the Minister for Health Nicola Roxon says that the move is a blow to the government’s anti-binge drinking campaign saying: "The Liberal Party has just made these sweet lolly drinks cheaper for teenagers to buy."
The Australian Drug Foundation (ADF) reported last month that alcopop sales had dropped by 29 percent since the tax was introduced. The ADF’s Head of Policy, Geoff Munro, had urged the Senate to vote in favour of the bill saying: “The tax is working. Alcopop drinkers are drinking less and will be at reduced risk of actual harm from violence, sexual assault and accidents.”
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