Whisky news from the The Scotch Whisky Association
Ban on sales below tax welcomed by whisky distillers - 18th January, 2011
The UK Government’s proposal to ban alcohol sales below tax in England and Wales has been welcomed by The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).
Scotch Whisky distillers have campaigned for over two years for such a measure to be introduced as a legal way to set a floor price for alcoholic drinks. The SWA also called today for the same floor price arrangements to be introduced in Scotland.
With a bottle of beer, wine or spirits displaying the alcohol content and carrying a known tax burden, enforcement of a ban on sales below excise duty and VAT is simple to operate and transparent.
The SWA supports the proposed ban as part of a two stage approach to modernising the UK alcohol duty regime. A floor price, where a unit of beer is taxed at 21p and of whisky at 29p, highlights the differential taxation of alcoholic drinks and reinforces the need for a fairer excise duty system, with all drinks taxed on the same basis according to alcohol content.
Gavin Hewitt, SWA Chief Executive, said: “A ban on alcohol sales below the cost of excise duty and VAT is the right way forward. The next stage should be reform of an outdated duty system so that tax discrimination between drinks categories is removed and consumers are treated fairly whatever drink they prefer. The Budget in March offers an early opportunity to begin to introduce a fairer balance in alcohol taxation.”
<< Back to all the latest whisky news brought to you by Planet Whiskies
Distillery of the Month: October 2023
Whisky Advent Calendars 2023
Advertisement
Stay Connected
Get Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest news, popular news and exclusive updates.
Latest Whisky News
Advertisement
Find out more about Scottish Distillery
Planet Whiskies Distillery Tours
Master Distillers Q&A
-
Keith Law: Master Distiller of Diageo
There are now two special pages on this website all about the views of Keith Law, the Master Distiller at Diageo. First page is about Blended Whisky and Food and the second page is a question and answer session relating to Keith's past experiences.... VIEW ANSWERS