Hopes are rising that booze duty will be frozen in a win for drinkers after tomorrow's Autumn Statement. Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, will deliver a Budget in the Commons on Wednesday - with widespread reports suggesting drinkers and pubs could be among the major winners.
Wine and spirit businesses are calling on the Chancellor to freeze alcohol duty at the Autumn Statement. Industry figures highlight a drop of around 20 per cent in spirit sales in the last 28 days and a double digit drop for wine during the same period after the largest duty increase in almost 50 years on August 1.
Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: “We have long argued that duty rises are counterproductive and lead to reduced sales which means less revenue to the Exchequer. The most up-to-date sales shows starkly shows that consumers are still in the grip of a cost of living-of-living crisis and cannot afford to keep stretching their budgets just to be able to enjoy some of life’s little luxuries.”
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“Excise duty is a fixed cost that is also subject to VAT, so it disproportionately affects shoppers at the lower end of the market,” said Simon Doyle, GM at Concha y Toro Europe. “Wine has been an affordable luxury for many – but those couple of glasses at the end of a working week will become even more expensive.
"61% of a bottle of wine bought at £6 already goes to the government in tax (excise £2.67, plus £1 VAT). A further increase will likely mean over two-thirds of a bottle bought at £6 will be made up of tax in one form or another,” Doyle added. In response, the UK Spirits Alliance (UKSA), which represents more than 280 small and independent distilleries has launched an advertising campaign.
The message reads: “80% of a bottle of gin is tax. Support our pubs, support British spirits”. “The chancellor should ensure a fair approach across the industry, and freeze duty on all drinks enjoyed by consumers, rather than simply a beer and a cider pulled in a pub. The Brexit Pubs Guarantee not only does little to support pubs, bars and restaurants but also penalises adult customers who might prefer a gin and tonic, or a spritz over a beer or a cider,” a UKSA statement read.
