The National Post reports in its Friday, Feb. 16, edition that the House of Commons finance committee recommended on Thursday that the government reduce an impending increase in alcohol taxes, although it didn't go as far as Conservative MPS wanted. An unbylined item in the Post reports that an amendment was passed by Liberal, NDP and Bloc MPs that recommended increasing taxes on alcohol purchasing by two per cent, as opposed to the slated 4.7-per-cent increase that will come into effect on April 1. A proposed motion by Conservative MP Jasraj Singh-Hallan would have entirely negated the increase of the federal excise tax on alcohol -- sometimes called the "beer tax" -- but was rebuffed by the other parties. The amendment recommending a 2-per-cent tax increase was based on the Bank of Canada's target for inflation, but Conservative MPs argued that the increase in taxes might hurt businesses struggling to return to pre-pandemic numbers. Singh-hallan said: "Increasing taxes is not helping anyone. Not our small businesses, not our producers and not Canadians." Conservative MP Pat Kelly said, "I think that the excise tax on beer, wine and spirits should be repealed outright."