Public believes spirits tax is ‘too high’, says poll

Two thirds of people surveyed in a recent YouGov poll said that tax on spirits was “too high”, prompting the WSTA to reiterate its calls for a 2% duty cut in the industry.

The spirits trade is calling for a 2% duty cut during the upcoming Budget Statement

The poll found that before knowing the level of tax on alcohol, one in three (38%) of those surveyed said duty was too high.

However, once people were informed that on average 74% (or £7.26) spent on a 70cl bottle of spirits goes on duty and VAT, 64% of respondents thought this tax was too high.

The poll revealed that only one in 10 (or 12%) of those polled had an “accurate impression” of the level of tax on spirits. YouGov conducted the poll using a sample size of 2,011 adults

“This YouGov poll shows that the majority of people are in the dark about how much the taxman is taking from them when they buy a bottle of wine or spirits,” said Miles Beale, chief executive of trade body the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).

“When they are put in the picture there is a dramatic leap in the number of people who think British consumers are being hit for too much tax.”

The WSTA is calling on George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to cut wine and spirits duty by 2%, which it claims will “rebuild confidence, create jobs and grow exports”.

Earlier this month, Beale and Denis O’Flynn, chairman of the WSTA and MD of Pernod Ricard UK, were joined by English vineyard owner Mark Driver and Brighton Gin’s Helen Chesshire (all pictured) to meet Treasury Exchequer Secretary Damian Hinds MP to put forward their case for the reduction.

The UK has the fourth highest spirits duty in the EU.

Last year, George Osborne cut spirits duty by 2% following the success of the Drop the Duty campaign, launched as part of a collaboration between the WSTA, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and the Tax Payers’ Alliance.

According to the WSTA, between April and December 2015, spirits revenue went up 4% following the duty reduction. This compares to a spirits revenue decline of £11m in 2014.