The New Zealand government has announced a 6.65% increase in beer tax, which is the second largest rise in 30 years, adding an extra NZ$86m to the annual expenditure for New Zealanders, with beer drinkers accounting for NZ$28.9m of this total. The Brewers Association and Guild have expressed their concerns about the timing of the increase, which comes during a cost-of-living crisis, and have proposed that the government should consider freezing the excise tax to ease the tax burden on consumers and brewers. They also suggested that other countries have implemented tax relief measures to support small businesses, and warned that the significant tax increases could push smaller breweries towards bankruptcy.