Whisky taxes ‘far too high’ say Scots

MORE than three quarters of Scots believe that planned tax increases on a bottle of Scotch whisky are too high, the drink’s industry body has claimed.
Whisky barrels. The majority of Scots believe taxes on whisky are too high, says industry research. Picture: TSPLWhisky barrels. The majority of Scots believe taxes on whisky are too high, says industry research. Picture: TSPL
Whisky barrels. The majority of Scots believe taxes on whisky are too high, says industry research. Picture: TSPL

A study carried out by the Scotch Whisky Association found that two-thirds of people UK-wide also agree that the planned duty hike is too much.

Currently, 79 per cent of the price of an ­average bottle of Scotch whisky is made up of duty and VAT.

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If the alcohol duty escalator were implemented again at Wednesday’s Budget, this would go up to 81 per cent – more than £4 of every £5 spent on Scotch.

The escalator, introduced in 2008, automatically increases duty on wine and spirits by inflation plus 2 per cent.

Consumers are also calling on the government to give the hospitality industry a wider breadth of help – with 86 per cent of Scots agreeing more should be done. Recent independent research from Ernst & Young found the industry as a whole supported 475,000 jobs in 2012.

David Frost, Scotch Whisky Association chief executive, said: “We urge the Chancellor to listen to that large majority of the population who believe the alcohol duty escalator is simply unfair to a major Scottish, and British, industry.

People are still under financial pressure and scrapping the escalator and freezing duty would help ease some of that pain.”