The 2007 budget, announced by Gordon Brown today, includes inflationary rises in duty for beer, wine and cider, with no rise for spirits. This will disappoint many in the alcohol harm reduction field who want to see price increases to curb consumption.
Here's the extract from Chapter 5, Building a Fairer Society, p130
5.124 Budget 2007 announces that spirits duties are again frozen, for the tenth successive Budget, meaning the total tax on a standard bottle of spirits will be £1.77 lower than if duty had risen in line with inflation since 1997; duties on beer, wine, sparkling wine and cider will
increase in line with inflation, adding 1 penny to a pint of beer, 5 pence to a standard 75 centilitre bottle of wine, 7 pence to a 75 centilitre bottle of sparkling wine and 1 penny to a litre of cider.
5.125 It is also important that businesses are treated fairly. Currently, inconsistencies andomissions in the excise duty regimes mean that businesses may not always have the appropriate rights of review or appeal against decisions made by HMRC. The Government will consult over the summer to identify areas where the review and appeal process for excise.
Full Budget 2007 details here.
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