Australians pay more tax on beer than companies pay on gas exports

Australian consumers pay more tax on beer than companies pay on offshore natural gas exports, a senior government treasury department official has confirmed.

Independent senator David Pocock asked Treasury Deputy Secretary Shane Johnson about the issue in Senate Estimates on Wednesday if it was accurate to say the Petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) was giving Australia less revenue than the beer excise, and was stunned by the answer.

“In ’25 ’26 MYEFO [Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook], taxes on beer, we’re expecting $2.7 billion. Taxes from PRRT, $1.5 [billion], so yes it’s lower,” Mr Johnson responded after looking up the numbers.

“How do we live in a country, one of the biggest gas exporters in the world, and we’re getting more tax from beer than PRRT?” Mr Pocock asked, and said maybe it was a question for Minister for Finance Kary Gallagher to answer, calling it a “political decision”.

“Well, we’ve made changes to the PRRT that we got through the parliament. Other areas of tax tax reform for us, the priority is delivering on our election commitments and including the bill that the Treasurer introduced today,” Ms Gallagher replied.

Nationals senator Matt Canavan spoke out about the exchange on Thursday, and called Mr Pocock’s claim “flat out wrong”.

“He ignores company tax. When you include that, one company – Woodside – pays almost as much tax as beer excise alone,” he wrote on social media.

“In recent years, our mining and gas industries have paid half our company taxes – about $65 billion. Beer excise is $2.75 billion. We can’t pay for the NDIS by drinking beer. Without mining Australia would be bankrupt.”

He then posted an image he said showed Woodside paid $1.7 billion in company tax in 2023-24 along with $796 million in PRRT.

The House of Representatives last week approved a bill temporarily freezing the excise on draught beer, which the Nationals want extended to tap spirits.

Header image: David Pocock in Senate estimates (Australian Parliament).

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