The Japanese Government is reportedly planning to establish a single tax rate system on beer and quasi-beer products, as part of tax reforms for fiscal 2016.

Under the proposed reform, the tax duties on beer will be reduced while hiking the duties on happoshu low-malt quasi-beer and third segment quasi-beer beverages that contain less or no malt, the Japan Times reported.

Unnamed sources were cited by the news publication as saying that a single tax rate of around ¥55 per 350ml could be agreed upon.

Currently, the taxing is according to the amount of malt they contain. The products are taxed at the rate of ¥77 for beer, ¥47 for happoshu and ¥28 for other quasi-beer products.

In the tax system reform discussions held in fiscal 2015, it was decided upon lessening taxation discrepancies among similar alcoholic beverages, reported the publication.

However, the government will require enough support from the beer industry to proceed further with the new reform.

Additionally, it would require the brewers to review their line of products as well as facilities.

Japan’s domestic consumption of beer, including beer-like low-malt beer and no-malt beer products was about 5.55 million kilolitres in 2012.