New campaign launched to scrap alcohol duty escalator

The ‘Call Time on Duty’ campaign is being supported by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), the Scotch Whisky Association and the TaxPayers’ Alliance. It comes as a new report, finalised by Ernst & Young and published by the WSTA, says scrapping the escalator would boost public finances by more than £230 million and create 6,000 new UK jobs in 2014.

'Alcohol duty escalator is bad for business'​

Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA, said: "This shows that the alcohol duty escalator is bad for consumers, bad for the economy, and bad for business.

"So our message to the Chancellor is clear: if you’re serious about creating jobs, supporting growth and cutting taxes, then you need to be fair and call time on your inflation-busting alcohol super tax."

British Beer & Pub Association chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: "We support the abolition of all tax escalators in the sector. We have campaigned hard to ensure the escalator was abolished for beer, and we are now calling for a tax freeze on beer in the March 2014 Budget."

Tax on wine increased by 50%​

Introduced in 2008, the escalator has increased the tax on alcohol by 2% above inflation every year and, under current plans, is due to do so again in the 2014 Budget. Whilst beer was removed from the duty escalator in the 2013 Budget, tax on wine has increased by 50% and tax on spirits by 44% since 2008.

Since George Osborne became Chancellor, tax on wine and spirits has increased by 25%. In total, tax now accounts for 79% of an average priced bottle of spirits and 57% of an average priced bottle of wine.

Jonathan Isaby, political director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: "It is shocking that most of the price we will pay when buying our favourite tipple this Christmas will go straight to the taxman. If you want to leave a festive brandy out for Santa as he delivers the presents on Christmas Eve, you’ll have to buy another four for George Osborne. The Chancellor rightly stopped the endless tax hikes on beer at this year’s budget so he should be fair and do the same for wine and spirits in 2014."

Growth in the sector steadily declining​

According to the Ernst & Young report, employment growth in the sector has been steadily declining since the introduction of the alcohol duty escalator.

To coincide with the publication of the report, the ‘Call Time on Duty’ campaign will urge responsible drinkers to email their local MP and ask them to write to the Chancellor through the www.calltimeonduty.co.uk​ website that calls for the alcohol super tax to be scrapped in the upcoming Budget. Under current Government plans the alcohol duty escalator is set to run until 2015.