Across the world, the anniversary of Robert Burns’ birthday will be toasted tonight with a dram of Scotch whisky.
But the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), the trade body for the industry, has taken the occasion to renew its campaign to call for a freeze on all alcohol duties in this year’s Budget.
The group said sales of whisky in its domestic market have declined 12% in the five years since the alcohol duty escalator was introduced on the sale of spirits in the UK.
The trade body noted that taxes now make up almost 80% of the cost of a bottle, which it insists would have caused consternation to the Scottish bard. Although best known as a poet, Burns also had a day job as an excise man – often ensuring taxes were paid on alcohol.
“However, given his self-declared love of Scotch whisky, and his personal views on excise delivered in his poetry, it is unlikely he would have been in favour of high taxes,” the SWA said.
The SWA’s Call Time on Duty campaign will urge the UK Government to scrap the alcohol duty escalator and freeze all alcohol duties the next budget, due to be delivered in the spring.
The SWA said the move would help “stem the damage” to domestic sales.
SWA said the tax has played a key part in the decline of UK whisky sales, which according to its statistics has dropped from 102million bottles of whisky in 2007 to 90million bottles in 2012.
The escalator increases duty by 2% above the rate of inflation each year, which means tax on whisky has risen by 44% over five years, the SWA said.
Rosemary Gallagher, SWA communications manager, said: “We felt it appropriate to talk about the burden of almost 80% of a bottle of Scotch being made up of tax on the day we celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns.
“As a Scot who was both vocal about his love of whisky but also an excise man, we can only imagine what Burns might have said about the high tax on a dram today.
“It is particularly unfair that the chancellor continues to penalise Scotch when he removed the escalator from beer, and cut beer duty, in last year’s budget.
“Drinkers of a dram are now paying 50% more duty than a beer drinker for the same amount of alcohol,” she added.