![]() This would help depoliticise the setting of alcohol duty.While we believe inflation or earnings should be the “status quo” form of uprating duty, this should be complemented with review periods, held perhaps on a five or 10 yearly basis. Regularising the uprating of alcohol duty, with inflation or earnings uprating being the “norm”. ![]() Linking alcohol duty to social harms, rather than as a general tool for revenue raising, could help to improve dialogue between drinks manufacturers, government and health experts. Reliance on niche taxes makes the public finances inherently more volatile and at risk from factors such as changing consumer preferences. The UK public finances are already overly reliant on niche taxes, rather than broad taxes such as income tax and VAT. ![]() At the very least, alcohol duty should cover the health, crime and welfare costs to government and wider society (the “externalities” associated with alcohol consumption).Paternalistic arguments, which consider the ability of individuals to make “bad” and regrettable lifestyle choices (such as those that undermine their job prospects), could justify a higher tax take.Alcohol duty should not be treated as a cash cow for government. Explicitly linking alcohol duty to the social costs of alcohol, rather than treating it as a cash cow.With Alcohol Ingredients Relief, businesses can claim relief on alcohol excise duty when they use alcohol as an ingredient in drinks less than 1.2% ABV, chocolates, vinegar and other foods for human consumption (below a certain alcohol content). This would focus alcohol duty on the off-trade, which is particularly reliant on sales to hazardous and harmful drinkers.Conceivably, this could work in a similar way to Alcoholic Ingredients Relief, which already exists. Allowing pubs to claim back a proportion of alcohol duty through a new “Pub Relief”.This would help simplify the alcohol duty system. ![]() Products of the same strength should face the same rate of duty and duty should be a function of the pure alcohol content of drinks, rather than the volume of the final product.
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