MORE than two-thirds of people in Scotland want the Chancellor to cut taxes on whisky, according to a survey.
Duty rates on the spirit currently make up 80 per cent on an average-priced bottle after being raised by 3.9 per cent in March.
A questionnaire carried out for the Scottish Whisky Association found 68 per cent of Scots believe Philip Hammond should reduce taxes in his Budget later this month.
Karen Betts, chief executive of the association, said: “We are urging the Chancellor to use the Budget to cut tax on Scotch and back this global success story. The Westminster Government has a real chance to show it is fully behind a leading UK manufacturing and exporting industry at a vital time, and fully behind the jobs and communities in Scotland that the industry supports.
“Using the Budget to Drop the Dram Duty will give Scotch the support it needs to go from strength to strength.”
According to the group, whisky adds £5 billion to the economy each year, is worth £4bn in exports and supports more than 40,000 jobs across the UK. More than 90 per cent of the spirit is exported, meaning companies do not have to pay alcohol duty on these sales. However, since the duty rise in the Chancellor’s last budget, sales have fallen by one million bottles. Revenues were also down 7 per cent year-on-year in the first three months after the increase.
A HM Treasury spokeswoman said: “We recognise the importance of the Scotch whisky industry. In the UK, tax on a bottle of Scotch is 90p lower now than it would have otherwise been, thanks to duty freezes and cuts introduced in the last three years.”
A total of 1004 adults in Scotland took part in the survey between October 21 and 24. Of those, 64 per cent said the UK Government should do more to support the industry, with just 15 per cent saying enough was being done. Hammond is due to deliver his Budget on Wednesday, November 22.
Tory MP Douglas Ross said: “The Scotch whisky industry is hugely important to Moray as well as the entire country. I was deeply concerned about the impact of the duty rise introduced by the Chancellor in the last Budget, and hope he has carefully considered the impact of any further changes.”
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