Reducing the tax on wine would be a corking idea

FOR those who enjoy a glass wine after a busy day at work or socialising with friends, I wonder how many of you have ever stopped to think about how much of the cash you spend on a bottle of wine is gobbled up by tax?

- Helen Nicklin

The answer is more than half: 54 per cent to be precise, which means that for an average-priced bottle of wine, which currently costs £5.93, £3.22 of that (including duty plus VAT) goes straight to the taxman.

If you compare this tax to what wine drinkers in France have to stomach, the contrast is startling. Their government only takes 3p a bottle. In Spain and Italy, it’s zero. The UK has the third highest wine duty rate in the EU. You’d have to go to Ireland and Finland to pay more.

Wine is now the UK’s most popular alcoholic drink, according to a recent YouGov poll, and is enjoyed by around 33 million people. This year, however, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association has warned consumers that the average price of a bottle of wine is set to break the £6 mark for the first time.

TAX rises on wine in the last decade (39 per cent) have far outstripped those on beer (16 per cent) and spirits (27 per cent).