Duty on beer, cider and spirits cut

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has delivered a third consecutive cut to beer duty and slashed duty on cider and spirits by 2% in today’s 2015 Budget.

Duty on wine meanwhile will be frozen.

Speaking today, Osborne said: “Last year I cut beer duty for a second year in a row and the industry estimates it helped to create 16,000 jobs. Today I am cutting beer duty for a third year in a row taking another penny off a pint. I am also cutting cider duty by 2% to support our producers in the West Country and elsewhere. To back one of the UK’s biggest exports the duty on Scotch whisky and spirits will be cut by 2% as well. Wine duty will be frozen, more pubs saved, jobs created, families supported – and a penny off a pint for the third year in a row.”

The cuts will be bittersweet for the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA), which had been campaigning for a 2% cut to both wine and spirits as part of its Drop the Duty campaign, supported by the TaxPayers’ Alliance and the Scotch Whisky Association.

In terms of beer, campaigners will be celebrating a historic third consecutive cut to beer duty with the chancellor taking another penny off a pint, which they have argued would allow the industry to continue to recover.

Frederic Landtmeters, managing director of Molson Coors for UK & Ireland said: “The successive duty cuts have not only given a much needed boost to beer drinkers across the UK, but have helped the wider industry benefit from extra investments – including over 16,000 new jobs created within the sector. We hope that the Government to continues to work in partnership with our industry to build on these successes.”

For reaction from the trade to the cuts click here.