Tax hike boosts Aussie booze thefts

SYDNEY, May 7 (UPI) -- Liquor store owners in Australia are reporting surge in thefts of so-called alcopops less than two weeks after the tax on the beverages was raised.

The tax on the pre-mixed cocktails was boosted 70 percent in an attempt to curb binge drinking by youths. However, merchants told the Sydney Morning Herald that the effect of the tax has been a rise in shoplifting.

In addition, sales of hard liquor and mixers also have increased. Terry Mott, head of Australia's Liquor Stores Association, told the newspaper binge drinking could become an even worse problem.

"What the government has done has encouraged young people to mix without measuring, and they can be quite reckless in their measuring," Mott said.