Cut alcohol responsibility, spirit distilleries warn Chancellor Jeremy Hunt

Decision time: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt

Scottish whisky and gin makers have known as on Jeremy Hunt to slash alcohol responsibility forward of the Spring Budget.

They say the speed of tax on spirits – the best in Europe – is putting additional stress on companies as they wrestle with increased prices.

It comes after strikes made ultimately 12 months’s Spring Budget implies that as much as 80 per cent of the value of a bottle of spirit is taken as tax, together with responsibility and VAT.

Businesses say the tax burden on spirits is ‘unsustainably excessive’.

Producers worry with no responsibility minimize, venues will probably be pressured to hike costs much more for purchasers.

In a letter seen by the Mail, commerce associations representing over 400 drinks producers and hospitality venues have urged the Chancellor to not flip his again on iconic homegrown merchandise equivalent to whisky and gin. 

The letter mentioned: ‘Not solely would a minimize in alcohol responsibility assist reverse this pattern of depressed shopper spending, however it could additionally generate revenues to the Exchequer at a time when it’s wanted most.’

Last August, taxes on all alcohol went up however beneath the Government’s ‘Brexit pubs assure’ aid was given to draught beer.

But the spirits business teams mentioned this was unfair and disastrous as responsibility on their drinks elevated by greater than 10 per cent.

Chris Jaume, proprietor of Cooper King Distillery in York and UK Spirits Alliance spokesman, mentioned: ‘It’s been a troublesome few years grappling with Covid, spiralling prices and a value of dwelling disaster, and we have now been hit onerous by the responsibility rise. It’s successfully an unfair tax on customers who need to assist their native distillery.’