A round robin from The Wine Society reminds us that on 1 Feb, a week on Sunday, the duty on wine will rise by 3.66%. Of course they are doing this to encourage orders this week and next, but still it’s something to bear in mind. See more detail here.
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Here’s the detail from the UK Wine and Spirit Trade Assocation:
Wine and spirit prices are set to rise again after another alcohol duty increase, announced at the Autumn Budget, comes into effect on Feb).
The latest RPI tax hike, set at 3.66%, will mean duty on a bottle of wine at 14.5% abv, has gone up by £1.10 a bottle - since the new duty regime came in on Aug 1, 2023.
Similarly for spirits, nearly two thirds of the price of an averaged priced bottle of gin at 37.5% abv is tax, while duty alone in the same two and half year period has risen by £1.38.
Since the introduction of the UK’s new taxation system, duty on beer and spirits has risen by over 18%, for higher strength wines the increase has been even greater and duty has risen by over 49% on a 14.5% abv wine.
For a still wine at 14.5% the UK has now topped the tax table with the highest duty rate in Europe.
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association argues that the Government’s shortsighted decision to keep piling on taxes only perpetuates the economy’s “doom loop”.
History has shown that increases to duty lead to higher prices for consumers and reduction in sales, which in turn drains Treasury funds while fuelling inflation. For the financial year to date (Apr-Dec) total alcohol duty receipts are down 1.4%, spirits are down by the most at a massive 2.4%, beer is down 1.4%, and wine down 2%.
If alcohol receipts remain 1.4% lower for the last quarter of this financial year, total receipts are estimated to come in at around £12.4bn, which will be £180 million lower in 2025/26 than in 2024/25.
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