Blow to whisky with 59p rise
28 Mar 08
The hangover for Scotland's whisky industry has been worse than overindulging on single malt at New Year
The hangover for Scotland’s whisky industry from the Budget has been worse than overindulging on single malt at New Year.
Chancellor Alistair Darling said duty on a bottle of spirits would rise by 55p, based on a 70cl bottle at 37.5 alcohol by volume (abv). Given that whisky must be at least 40 abv, and is often stronger, duty will increase further, to an additional 59p a bottle.
Michael Urquhart, joint managing director at Gordon & MacPhail, said: “These proposals are a blow to international competitiveness. A tax rise in the UK sets a damaging precedent that other export markets may follow.”