Remember when you could go out with a R50 tucked in your back pocket and stumble home eight hours later smelling like a brewery? Remember when R30 would get you a bottle of Russian Bear vodka and the worst hangover of the year? Ah, those were the days.

Well it’s about to get even more dear for a night out with the release of the latest budget. Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene increased the dreaded sin taxes (since when was a hardcore 48-hour drinking binge a sin?) and it’s not looking pretty for us fans of grog and ciggies. This from TimesLive:

The tax on a quart of beer goes up by 15 and a half cents;

A bottle of wine will cost 15 cents more;

A bottle of sparkling wine goes up by 48 cents;

Tax on a bottle of whiskey will increase by R3,77

A pack of 20 cigarettes will cost 82 cents more.

Well that isn’t exactly ideal. Those that are suffering the most? The idiots who like to drink and drive, as the general fuel levy went up 30,5 cents per litre and the Road Accident Fund by 59 cents.

It’s enough to make you want to stay in and drink yourself into a stupor. Side note – it’s almost the weekend.

[source:timeslive]