Alcoholic Drinks: Taxation

(asked on 15th October 2021) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact on the purchasing of alcohol through consumers being charged different amounts of tax per unit of alcohol consumed in line with the Chief Medical Office's guidelines; and what assessment his Department has made of that policy on sales of spirits as the highest taxed category of alcohol.


Answered by
Helen Whately Portrait
Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 20th October 2021

The Government recognises the important contribution the spirits sector makes to the economy. This is why we announced a freeze on spirit duties at March Budget 2021, making the price of a typical bottle of Scotch whisky 30p lower than it would have been had prices risen with inflation. When added to the cuts and freezes made in the last five years, this means that the price of a typical bottle of Scotch Whisky in 2021 will be £2.15 lower than it otherwise would have been since ending the spirits escalator in 2014.

To further support Scotch, the Chancellor has announced £1 million of additional funding for the promotion of Scottish food and drink products overseas, and £10 million of research and development funding to help the distilling sector transition to net zero emissions.

More broadly, the Government keeps all taxes under review. We are continuing to monitor emerging public health data and will provide further updates on our alcohol duty review in due course.

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