FARE acknowledges that the Australian Government is striving to achieve significant savings in the 2014-15 Budget and therefore this submission outlines areas of budget saving and small budget expenditure items. The items for budget expenditure are far outweighed by the projected savings that can be obtained from reforming Australiaís alcohol taxation system. One could easily pay for the other.
Recommendations
Budget savings:
- Replace the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) with a volumetric tax $3.4 billion over four years
- Abolish the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) Rebate $1.12 billion over four years
Projected savings: $4.52 billion over four years
Budget expenditure:
- Restore funding to the Alcohol and other Drugs Council (ADCA) $6 million over four years
- Implement a comprehensive National Action Plan for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) $37 million over four years
- Continue to fund the Community Sponsorship Fund $25 million over four years
- Introduce a structured screening and brief intervention program for alcohol $4.5 million over four years
- Develop and implement a national social marketing campaign to raise awareness about alcohol-related harms $13 million over four years
Projected costs: $85.5 million over four years
