Wine lovers pay seven times more tax than cider drinkers

WINE lovers are paying up to seven times more alcohol duty per glass than cider drinkers, analysis reveals amid calls for tax changes after Brexit.

The study shows drinkers of lowstrength wine (six per cent alcohol content) pay 50p duty per unit compared with 7p per unit for the same strength of alcohol in some ciders. EU regulations require wine and cider are taxed on volume rather than strength.

The Social Market Foundation says the UK should use Brexit to overhaul duty on alcohol so the stronger the drink, the more tax it incurs. This “duty strength escalator” would simplify the duty system, provide a financial incentive to drink healthily and encourage lower strength products.

Research found heavy drinkers were more likely to consume higher strength spirits, beers and ciders and were more likely to drink at home or on the street.

The think tank recommended a “pub relief” after Brexit to reduce the tax burden on hostelries. This would see a 2.5-litre bottle of cider at 7.5 per cent strength double in price to £7.37p.

A pint of 4.5 per cent strength lager in a pub would fall by seven per cent to £3.44p and a glass of wine at 13 per cent would drop 27p to £4.23p. This would still net the Treasury the same amount of revenue – about £12billion a year.

Scott Corfe, the report’s author, said: “The way we tax alcohol is a mess. Inconsistent, irrational duty rates based on politics mean drinks associated with medical and social harm are unjustifiably cheap. A well-planned duty regime could discourage the riskiest drinking, support the pub trade and reward manufacturers who reduce the strength of their products. Alcohol should be taxed on the basis of evidence, not politics.”