|
|
||
|
|
Back | |
|
A MODERN INDUSTRY: AN OUTDATED TAX Scotch passes government’s test of good business - Government fails its own tax test |
|
|
Scotch Whisky is a prime example of a modern industry, which reflects much of the government’s business philosophy, but it is held back by a tax structure from another age, a new paper from the industry today demonstrates. The document, ‘Excise Duty: The Case for a New Deal’, benchmarks the industry against key government business ideals: industrial clusters; industrial relations; productivity and competitiveness; export performance; and support of the rural economy, and finds the industry matches these ideals well. The match is poor when measured against the government’s test of fair taxation, a deficiency which only the Chancellor, not the industry can correct. The Scotch Whisky Association’s Director General, Hugh Morison, commented: “The government wishes to encourage world class, internationally competitive industries whose products are sold all over the world. In Scotch Whisky, the government has such a champion. “The failure to benchmark against government’s test of fair taxation is no failure on the part of the industry. We recognise that the current duty system has been inherited by the government and will take time to fix. But if the government is serious about supporting world class businesses, then it must match its rhetoric with action, and remove the duty discrimination faced by spirits in the UK. The current system hampers sales here and sends the wrong signal to governments overseas”. The Association maintains that no justification for the present duty system has held up to scrutiny, and its paper seeks to explode the myths and excuses put forward in support of the status quo rather than action. The Association is calling on the government to champion the industry as an example to others of a modern world class industry, and to back this up through a programme of duty cuts over successive Budgets, leading, over time to, a system which taxes all alcoholic drinks at the same rate according to alcohol content. Mr Morison concludes: “The industry is a shining example of a modern industry, it is time the excise duty structure was brought into the modern era”. - END - Issued by Campbell Evans 0131 222 9235 or 0171 629 4384
Note to editors: The duty on normal pub servings containing the same amount of alcohol is as follows: Scotch Whisky 27.38p |
||
|
|||
|
Back | ||