At today’s Budget, the Chancellor announced that alcohol duty rates will be increased in line with RPI, to maintain their real terms value.
IAS Chief Executive, Dr Katherine Severi, said:
Keeping alcohol duty in line with inflation is both fiscally and morally responsible. Alcohol harm costs England £27.4 billion every year, equivalent to £485 for every person in the country. At a time when the NHS and other public services are under immense pressure, we simply cannot afford to hand further tax breaks to multinational alcohol producers.
Households have seen the cost of everyday essentials rise, and there is no good reason why alcohol producers should be protected from inflation through repeated duty cuts and freezes. Keeping duty in line with inflation simply maintains its real value, rather than making alcohol cheaper in real terms at a time when alcohol harm remains at record levels.
Supporting pubs does not mean making supermarket alcohol cheaper. Pubs face intense competition from the off-trade, and what landlords need is a more level playing field with supermarkets, not policies that make cheap supermarket alcohol even more competitive.
People expect this Government to protect the NHS and the public finances, not put the profits of big business first. By maintaining the real value of alcohol duty today, the Chancellor has done the right thing. We hope this will be followed by a comprehensive national alcohol strategy, including responsible, evidence-based fiscal measures to reduce alcohol harm.