The UK wine industry is “under siege” due to upcoming changes to liquor duties, according to a leading trader.
Steve Finlan, president of the Wine Society – which dates back to 1874 and has 180,000 members – said the tax rules would lead to higher prices for customers.
He accused the government of ignoring industry pleas amid fears some bottles could disappear from UK shelves altogether.
Alcohol duty: Steve Finlan, president of the Wine Society – which dates back to 1874 and has 180,000 members – said the tax rules would lead to higher prices for customers
Finlan's comments mirror those of other big names including Majestic Wine and Laithwaites.
From February 1 next year, the alcohol duty system will impose more than 30 different tax bands, adding to the complexity of the system.
This will impact the amount of duty paid on wines between 11.5 per cent and 14.5 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV), which represents around 80 per cent of the UK market, according to the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA).
A bottle of wine at 14.5 per cent ABV will see excise duty rise from £2.67 to £3.09.
“The UK wine trade is under siege,” Finlan told the newspaper.
“The new duty regime will have an impact on prices across our industry and will result in higher costs for UK wine consumers.”
“If the new government is serious about listening to business, it must recognize an entire industry is united against the proposed new tariff regime.”
Industry bosses fear that consumers will balk at higher prices and spend less, ultimately reducing tax revenues for the government.
The wine association, which sells products ranging from its own claret at £7.95 a bottle to a £6,500 bottle of Jean-Louis Chauffe Hermitage, has written to its members to alert them.
Warning of a “more expensive and complex” system due to the changes introduced by the recent Conservative government, Finlan told clients in an email: “The administrative burden will have an impact on prices across our industry.”
We have warned the new government about the negative effects of the proposed toll system, but they are not listening. Not a single wine company in the UK supports this new approach.
Other big names to call upon for the switch include Majestic Wine, Laithwaites and Cambridge Wine Merchants.
Tamara Roberts, chief executive of Ridgeview Wine Estate – a winery in East Sussex – said: “It is very complex and will lack clarity for consumers as well as producers.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves also did not rule out raising alcohol duty, but such an increase would be “real punishment”, according to Pepper Sells, head of wine gifting company Di-vine.
A Treasury spokesman said: “We do not comment on speculation about tax changes outside of financial events.”
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