Spirits industry sends out 'SOS' over duty

DISTILLERS have issued an SOS to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, warning that a “catastrophic” tax raid on Britain’s whisky and spirits sector has left the country worse off.

- BY DAVID WILLIAMSON

The industry said a 17% hike in spirits duty over the past three years has resulted in a £94m fall in tax revenues in 2025-26.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group for UK Spirits, warned the Treasury risks “taxing the spirits sector into oblivion”.

She said the increases have “led to the Treasury losing money...exactly the opposite of what was intended, and it is time to change course”.

Distillers and MPs are pleading for change to prevent further harm to the sector, stating that revenues are £1.1bn lower than what was expected when a new alcohol duty system was introduced in 2023.

Braden Saunders, founder of the Doghouse Distillery in Battersea, South London, said the capital has “one of the most exciting spirits scenes in the world” but now “that success story is slowly being written off”.