Share

Brandhouse objects to 'sin tax' label

Cape Town – Brandhouse, one of South Africa’s leading alcoholic beverage companies, wants National Treasury and Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan to refrain from using the words sin tax when referring to excise duties on alcoholic products.

Gordhan is expected to increase excise taxes in his budget speech in February.

Joe Heshu, public policy manager at Brandhouse, said the group has already met with the treasury.

“We’ve asked that the minister no longer refer to excise duties as sin taxes. Not only does that label cause reputational harm to good, legitimate companies, it also undermines the (tax) contributions that the companies make.”

Heshu said classifying excise duties as sin tax makes a negative statement about the relevant companies.

“We’ve asked treasury to not mention sin taxes again but rather just excise.”

Heshu said while there is no denying that alcohol misuse does occur in South Africa, it is irresponsible to label all alcohol consumption as sin. “Is it a sin to drink one glass of wine at dinner?”

Excise has been referred to as sin tax, mainly by the media, as it is a special tax placed mainly on commodities such as tobacco and alcohol.

Brandhouse is a joint venture between Diageo, the world’s largest spirits maker, Heineken, the third-largest brewer in the world, and Namibia Breweries, that country's biggest brewery.

The group distributes beer products like Heineken, Windhoek and Amstel. Brandhouse also has an 80% share in South Africa's whiskey market.

 - Fin24

*Follow James-Brent Styan on Twitter at @jamesstyan.

 

 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.99
-0.5%
Rand - Pound
23.95
-0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.50
-0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
+0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.4%
Platinum
896.95
-1.0%
Palladium
1,000.11
-0.2%
Gold
2,192.73
-0.1%
Silver
24.45
-0.8%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
67,991
+0.5%
All Share
74,199
+0.4%
Resource 10
56,296
+1.1%
Industrial 25
103,587
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,547
+0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders