{"id":517787,"date":"2026-03-06T08:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T08:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/517787\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T08:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T08:35:08","slug":"right-decision-b-c-industry-raises-a-glass-to-alberta-for-corking-added-wine-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/517787\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Right decision’: B.C. industry raises a glass to Alberta for corking added wine tax"},"content":{"rendered":"

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B.C. wine producers are welcoming Alberta\u2019s move to scrap a tax on wine in its latest budget, following criticism from industry members.<\/p>\n

The Alberta government said last month it was removing the ad valorem tax because it created reduced transparency and business uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Christopher Holler, the general manager of Poplar Grove Winery in Penticton, B.C., said under the old system, consumers were charged a flat rate plus a percentage of the wine’s value \u2014 which got higher the more expensive the bottle was.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re just really happy that it’s become more simplified,\u201d said Holler.<\/p>\n

The new system will reduce costs and confusion for Alberta residents and businesses looking for a B.C. bottle, Holler added.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Alberta customers would ask all the time, \u2018Well, can you explain this tax?\u2019 And they didn’t understand it at all. So it is a bit of a win, in terms of how simplified it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Other producers in the Okanagan area agree, but believe there\u2019s more work to do, especially on wines costing between $20 and $30.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the industry groups in general put out quite a lot of information on how much that was affecting the smaller players,\u201d said Rowan Stewart with Quails Gate Winery in West Kelowna.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wine industry is already very highly taxed, and an additional tax on that is always going to\u00a0 be a negative impact,\u201d Rowan added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | B.C. wineries face drop in sales after Alberta increases tax:\"\"<\/p>\n

B.C. wineries face major sales drop after Alberta hikes wine fee<\/p>\n

B.C. wineries say sales to Alberta have dropped by up to 40 per cent after new fees were introduced, despite a trade deal between the provinces that allows Albertans to buy directly from B.C. wine producers. According to the Alberta Hospitality Association, Alberta wine pricing is now the most expensive in North America<\/p>\n

After forming a coalition, stakeholders from British Columbia and Alberta advocated for the tax to be repealed<\/a>, saying local businesses were facing declining wine sales and rising costs.<\/p>\n

Wine Growers of British Columbia CEO Jeff Guignard said they met with the Alberta government to discuss these concerns and he\u2019s thankful for the province \u201cmaking the right decision here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Restaurants Canada is also applauding the move, and said in a statement to CBC News, \u201cWe appreciate the government\u2019s willingness to work with Restaurants Canada on a solution that restores a straightforward flat\u2011tax approach, providing greater transparency and certainty for restaurants and consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guignard said this change will create more opportunities for the wine industry as well, especially at a time when there\u2019s more focus on buying Canadian across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just go back to the normal flat-tax system that everybody can understand and drive more predictability for businesses too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-517787","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}