A taxing time
Wasn't that a whopping increase on whisky in the Chancellor's budget? The levy is to rise by 55p a bottle.
I suppose one might argue that whisky and spirits generally could scarcely escape when the tax take overall is being increased.
However, the argument advanced in the past by the whisky industry - and accepted in the past by the Treasury - is that whisky suffers more from duty by proportion than other drinks.
The effort, therefore, has been to smooth out that difference by freezing the rate on whisky over successive years. It would appear that circumstances this year are so pressing that that effort has to be abandoned.
On the same theme, wasn't it a remarkable coincidence that Wendy Alexander chose this very topic of the duty on alcohol to pursue with the first minister at questions in Holyrood last week?
Without supporting or opposing an increase in duty, she nevertheless challenged Alex Salmond over his attitude to the cost of drink and its impact on society. How very prescient?
I'm 
Comments
The English Government seems to have been taking tips from the israeli government.
If we suppress the folk who want freedom maybe one day they'll get tired and give in to us. It hasn't worked in 30 years in plaestine and it hasn't worked in 300 years in Scotland.
I cna't belive a Scottish Treasurer and a Scottish PM have hiked up whisky duty by such a huge amount. A kick in the face to Scottish industry once again.
Sic A Parcel of Rogues In A Nation.
Saorsa A-Nis
Brown & Darling are Scots in name only. They would not hesitate to kick Scotland at any opportunity if they thought it might further their English political careers.
The sooner we (as a nation) can prise ourselves from the grasp of these robbers the better.
I notice from THe Scotsman that the exchequer receves abut £800million per year from the Scottish spirit industry. The SNP always used to say 'Its Scotland's Oil' but the tax on the Scottish spirit industry must be Scotland's gold.The revenue is considerably larger than the shortfall of £400 million in council tax that is being argued about relative to the SNP local income tax proposals. So, can we have our money back please?
Surprised - no Every time there is the slightest notion that support for Independence in Scotland is increasing the Asset stripping begins. First we discover that Westminster coffers will benefit by more than £4 Billion from our oil revenue, and now a way to damage our industry one of the few we have left. One of the few that have not had grants to make it worth while to move.
I wonder what the sceptics say now the ones that we see so often on this page stating that the English support us here in Scotland. Egg / face comes to mind.
we do need to put tax on the products that are ruining the life of our young people. That should be for their protection but I see none of that in the budget. I have never ever seen a young person outside our co-op with a bottle of malt whisky in their hand.
I agree with Chris.
Just a wee nudge to remind us who is boss , and the fuel being delayed until October won't help us either.
The sooner we get out of this diabolical regime the better.
( Not just for Scotland but England too)
Chris IT'S NOT AN "ENGLISH" GOVERNMENT, until you have your way its a UK GOVERNMENT. However, yeah you are right dumb of Darling Darling to hike Scotch prices but he and his masters shouldn't have squandered the kitty on expeditions in Iraq etc. Instead of moaning about what deluded notion you have that England is the root of all evil go to Kirkcaldy and ask people "Why? why do you persist in voting Brown in?" Oh and you "cna't" spell - must be too much whiskey.
All right enough for today.
Sorry Brian but I don't see the problem, whiskey is just another alcohol that causes family break ups accidents and illness.
Individuals have the choice to buy or not to buy any alcohol, it is not essential to life! However, if you were to point out that with the scrapping of the ten pence tax band that low and up to middle income earners will pay more income tax, and that middle income earners and above will pay less income tax, this shows where this new Tory governments loyalty actually is! As a low to middle income earner, I know where my vote will be cast in future. Hard lines bendy wendy hopefully goodbye.
Anything but new Labour? or is it new Tory who knows?
I thought it was Thatchers Tory's who were supposedly the ones most guilty of bleeding Scotland dry?
I see Nu-Lab, first with the Barnett formula and now adding a huge tax rise to one of Scotlands biggest export industries, appear to be trying to better all previous attempts.
Expect more cynical attempts from Brown to 'quell the rebellion'... only problem Mr Brown, the rebellion gains strength from your attacks. I think I will go and get a bottle of laphroaig for the weekend and reminisce about 'NOT' swearing an oath to the Queen.
Fifty five pence on a bottle of whisky isn't going to make any difference to the consumtion of alchohol , an extra three pence a nip, your going to be out of the gemme a long time before that makes a hole in your pocket, but it will make a wee dent in the big hole in this bankrupt government's finances. (another tax under the do good blanket) . The average fifteen pint binge will cost a massive sixty pence more. Hardly likely to turn the world teetotal, but more cash to pay for the parliamentary snouts in the trough, there may even be enough to give themselves a wee over inflation rise this year, or at least a wee bit more in expenses.
I live less than 20 miles from a well know distillery and to think that a Scottish prime minister and chancellor would punish us with what is effectively a 9% duty rise is unreal. It’s like a Nationalist satire, why have the SNP when people like Darling and Co are doing it for us? Will no Scottish resource be squeezed to its dying breath by Westminster? Whisky is the UK’s biggest export and Scottish oil is keeping its domestic books from buckling.
In this budget our Scottish chancellor has decided to pillage one of Scotland key industries both in export, earnings and employment terms.
“What kind of signal does this send out internationally when the Scotch Whisky industry cannot even trust the UK Government to treat it fairly?
At a stroke Alistair Darling he has undone the benefits of the freeze of previous years.
I heard that apparently Pauline McNeil supports the Whisky industry? Why is she then in the ‘Scottish’ Labour Party?
How many bottles of whisky can you get for £950?
Brian, I hope you're not suggesting the the budget Purdah was broken for party political reasons? Now that would be a scandal.
No use bringing the Queen into the budget BongoBrido she's got no say in it, remember she's Scottish too. The majority of English want an independent Scotland because it means an independent England with it's own Parliment with it's own taxes. No animosity towards Scots except the two thirds Scottish cabinet.Ex-pat Brummie.
A Hewitt at @5:46am
How can both the queen and Brown be Scottish? Either she is English on account of her place of birth, or Brown is English on account of his ancestry. You cannot have it both ways. I see people are even beginning to claim Cameron is a Scot (I assume on account of his surname)! It's bigotry, stirred up by the English media and the likes of Kelvin McKenzie. An unpleasant trait and one I thought the English had more sense than to be pulled into. I see even the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ are inserting the word "Scot" at every opportunity - I look forward to the day they confirm everyone's place of birth.
Possibly Labour are being cunning and are actually goading the nationalists with the sort of demented wedge issues that only they care about. Stuff like the Lewis chessmen, Berwick, 'legal tender', cheap kilts, etc. The calculation being that they'll alienate people with their 'Scotland = Palestine' rhetoric.
I wonder what Douglas and Wendy Alexander will be chatting about at their next family luncheon ?
Brian,it does make you think that if Mrs Alexander needs help from Westminster colleagues as well as Holyrood ones to try and lay a hand on Mr Salmond at question time,then things must be far worse than first thought.Even though they were pretty bad to start with.Wasn't she supposed to be one of Labour's big brains at Holyrood?
Instead of continually rasing taxes they should pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan and save the 3billion it's costing us. That's over 100,000 nurses or 90,000 policemen every year extra we could have. Both would do far more to help improve the drink related problems.
I dont understand what the Scots are complaining about? We, the English tax payer prop them up to the tune of 35 BILLION pounds a year!
It's time for England to go it alone, let the jocks dream on that North Sea oil, Whisky and shortbread will pay for their free health, education etc etc. You really should stop watching Braveheart and get with reality!
A Hewitt... if the English want an independant England so bad, why do they wait on us Scots to provide it? Surely there should be enough pride in 'Englishness' to want this for themselves?
... or just maybe it is because we provide them with too much income? Is there even an ENP (English National Party) in existence?
Ex-Pat Brummie. The Queen is German. Saxe Coburg Gotha.
Sorry, the statement "Whisky is the UK’s biggest export" is just plain wrong; I think you'll find that the UK earns £10bn more than all Food and Drink exports combined from Financial Services.
You can't complain about Sin Taxes; you won't be poorer if you drink less, give up smoking and drive a smaller car. Better still try walking - you might even live longer!
Mr English. You really do display the ignorant arrogance that so many blight the ggod name of England. It is for displays of your that perpetuate the resentment between both nations. One of the very reasons why independence in Scotland is gaining popularity.
Scotland is not being propped up at all by England. The Barnett Formula is a sop to stem the push for Scottish independence in the first place. As those who developed it knew too well the wealth of North Sea Oil as well as all the other assets that Scotland possesses, tourism, whisky etc. Far too valuable for the UK treasury to give up.
As usual the level of debate on this comments page is ludicrous.. (apologies those few who considered about what they wrote).
Endless streams of little Scotlanders and little Englanders slinging mud is a shameful sight.
And to compare the situation in the UK to Israel/Palestine just shows how cluesless you are, how little you understand your own history or the history of the world and is an insult to the people of Scotland and Britain. Go and read some books.
When you account for VAT the real rise is 59p per bottle. Why do Scots accept a tax on a tax? Whisky is cheaper to buy in many foreign countries. The time will come, but when?
I'm confused.....I thought the SNP's policy on alcohol was to end the era of cheap drink.....is raising the price of alcohol only a good idea when the SNP float it??
2 other points worth making...
The duty rise is for all spirits, not just whisky. The blog gives the impression that whisky has been singled out. Not so.
This is the 1st rise in spirits duty for 10 years - long overdue IMO.
Realistically taxes on the sins, not the original seven deadly ones, are always pitched at a level whereby we will continue to contribute to the Revenue at our current generous level; my particular ‘poison’ spirits will rise by 55p a bottle or 79p per litre if you are pedantic, this will in no way inhibit this contributor to my leisure activities.
Wednesday’s coincidental choice of subject, which I equally feel is no coincidence, is more connected to Downing Street’s supply of insider information from The Forth Valley Two in their attempts to shore up their damaged agent in Scotland; what do you do with a girl called Wednesday?
Also, I might be wrong, but a 55p rise on a bottle that costs £20+ is a price rise of only 2.7%... which, be honest, really isn't a lot
Also in the export market, no one buys Scottish Whiskey because it is cheap... (and it will still be cheaper abroad, like all booze)
As a Londoner I am happy for the chancelor to raise tax on whisky. Do I care that this may impact on Scottish jobs, not one jot. I do not drink the foul stuff either.
These taxes will go towards Cross Rail, building new homes in the mMdway towns and our on-going struggle to defeat extremeism in Iraq / Afganistan.
The Westminster Government rules Scotland. Some on this blog forget this. Your assembly does not!
Quote: "But speaking to ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, the chancellor (A. Darling) said very few sectors had enjoyed a 10-year duty freeze.
"I think the Scotch whisky industry is very important to Scotland, " he said.
"What is also important to Scotland is making sure that we get children out of poverty, that we help elderly people."
... well, why did Labour give Scotland the poorest deal from the Barnett Formula? Was this to help the poor? Get out of Scotland Labour, your finished!
£2.3 billion spirits revenue total.
£575 million from whisky
£46 million from scottish whisky consumers (8% population share).
As a Scot, I think it's embarrassing that our international symbol and prime export product is, basically, a drug. And a drug that causes dreadful social harm, too. High prices and pretty tartan bottles or not, I think we should be about as proud of it as we are of the "Opium Wars" in which we and others forced mighty China to accept legal sales of our heroin.
Here are the statistical facts on Scotch Whisky. Draw your own conclusions: Exports of Scotch Whisky generate more than £2.5 billion for the UK balance of trade and is therefore one of the UK's top export earners. £800 million contributed to the Exchequer in taxes in 2006. Two taxes are levied on Scotch Whisky. Excise duty to which is added VAT. This means whisky is increased by and subject to a tax on a tax. 1995 saw the first tax cut in spirits for 100 years. There was a second tax cut in 1996 and then a duty freeze. The tax on spirits however remains higher than the tax on wine and beer. The latest budget means around 75% of a typical bottle of Scotch Whisky is tax.
Oooh things are heating up.
Response to Brian McHugh - English Democrat Party
"The English Democrats Party Putting England First – Home The official website of the English Democrats Party - UK Political Party looking ... Three cheers for the Scottish National Party who threw this ridiculous ...
www.englishdemocrats.org.uk/ - 199k"
Please note ref to SNP. Before May there was a 1707 memorial programme on TV with Douglas Alexander sitting with a crowd of Unionists and Alex Salmond supporting a crowd of .... English Nationalists (weird huh?. Brian should know it was on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ (I think)
Response to Pogo - QE2 is descended from Germans sure but her mother came from Glamis, is that not true. She didn't come from Surrey! Robert the Bruce was descended from Normans like the blokes he was fighting! Should have just let the Norman French bash each other and leave the English and Scots get on with their lives. Water under the bridge.
Response to Alisdair Cameron - as a fellow member of the rational minority shall we declare independence and go and run our own state free of bigots?
Lawrence Mayhew - If you've got something inoffensive to say then by all means type it otherwise don't play to the audience.
"At 06:38 PM on 13 Mar 2008, J Park wrote:
Draw your own conclusions
£800 million contributed to the Exchequer in taxes in 2006. Two taxes are levied on Scotch Whisky. Excise duty to which is added VAT"
Here is a list of facts
Total spirits duty £2.3 billion whisky+gin+vodka etc
£575 million (25%) duty from whisky
After independence Scotland's exports of whisky will increase, because the rest of the UK will be an foreign market
Assuming duty stays the same in Scotland after independence, £46 million in duty will be raised for the Scots tax base.
Assuming duty stays the same in the remaining UK after Scotland's independence ,£529 million in duty will be raised for remaining UK tax base.
Duty and VAT are consumption taxs, not production taxs.
Any other conclusions I need to draw?
Response to the Answer at 12:21 AM on 14 Mar 2008:
Yes, you do. The obvious conclusions are (a) The huge importance of Scotch Whisky to the Scottish and UK economies. (Much of the gin and vodka produced in the UK also comes from Scotland eg Smirnoff) (b) Spirits, most of which are produced in Scotland, suffer from tax discrimination relative to other alcoholic drinks (c) Regardless of the nature of the tax, 75% of a typical bottle of Scotch Whisky as tax indicates a major Scottish industry is being exploited as a cash cow. (Not sure where that fits with Mr Darling's promise to keep British business internationally competitive?)
On the other point you seem to be making about duty revenue on independence, you omit to look at the other side. An independent Scotland's balance of trade figures will include Scotch Whisky’s huge export earnings.
Response to A Cameron at 11.46am on 13th March:,
Most Scotch Whisky sold is Blended Scotch Whisky, which is cheaper than the Single Malt £20 level you use and therefore any tax increase has a greater impact than you suggest. In addition, you forget the Chancellor also announced accumulator increases of 2% above inflation annually until 2013.