It’s also bad economics, Beale contested, at a time when the government is trying to plug its “£22 billion black hole.”
“Rishi originally wrote this up as being good economics. But we’ve told them that demand is already suffering. They keep putting taxes up and actually, every time they freeze [alcohol] duty they get a bit more in terms of revenue.”
‘Modernized and simplified’ system
The Labour government, meanwhile, stands by the view that the changes are positive. A Treasury spokesperson said: “The alcohol duty reforms have modernised and simplified the duty system, prioritising public health and incentivising consumption of lower strength products.”
Steve Finlan, CEO of the Wine Society, a wine business serving over 180,000 members with a range of around 1,800 wines, estimated his business costs will increase by between £3 million and £3.5 million this year as a result of duties.
As a result, he says, the Wine Society is freezing recruitment and has no choice but to pass on some of the costs to the consumer.
Despite the Wine Society’s attempts to lobby the Labour government, he claims their concerns aren’t being taken seriously.
“The thing with this government is that they don’t have a lot of business experience. We as an industry have got some cracking ideas for ways in which they can get what they want out of it and we can get what we want out of it and consumers get what they want out of it.
“But it is certainly not moving to a new duty regime which is complex and adds even more red tape.”