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Slideshow
Top 10 highest taxed EU countries for BWS
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association has strengthened its calls for a 2% cut to duty on wine and spirits by revealing the vast difference paid in tax on alcohol by EU member states, with the UK faring least favourably.
The Drop the Duty! campaign, launched by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, TaxPayers’ Alliance and Scotch Whisky Association, aims to raise awareness of the “extremely high” rate of tax that UK consumers currently pay on wines and spirits calling for a 2% cut in tax.
UK consumers currently pay nearly 80% tax on an average priced bottle of spirits and almost 60% on an average priced bottle of wine. That means 78% tax on whisky (£10.06 on an average bottle), 79% tax on gin (£10.03), 76% on vodka (£9.48) and 56% tax on a bottle of wine (£2.93).
As the 2015 UK Budget announcement nears closer, campaigners are hoping their pleas will be heard, repeating the success of last year’s campaign which saw the UK’s alcohol duty escalator scrapped. A cut in duty on wine and spirits would result in a £1.5 billion boost to public finances in 2015, according to independent analysis by Ernst Young. Wine hasn’t received a tax cut since 1985, while spirits has only received two tax cuts in the past 100 years.
To support their calls, the WSTA has released a breakdown of what each EU member country paid in tax on alcohol in 2014, with some surprising differences.
For comparison, the average tax paid by EU countries is as follows: spirits: €524m, wine: €221m, sparkling wine: €39m, beer: €363m, total: €1.7bn.
With this in mind, scroll through to see just how much UK consumers pay in tax on wine and spirits, compared to their EU counterparts…
For more information on supporting the campaign click here.
10. Ireland
Spirits: €290m
Wine: €282m
Sparkling wine: €12m
Beer: €358m
Total: €1bn
9. Italy
Abruzzo, Italy
Spirits: €518m
Wine: €0
Sparkling wine: €0
Beer: €489m
Total: €1bn
8. Netherlands
Spirits: €321m
Wine: €301m
Sparkling wine: €16m
Beer: €406m
Total: €1.1bn
7. Spain
Spirits: €773m
Wine: €0
Sparkling wine: €0
Beer: €299m
Total: €1.1bn
6. Finland
Spirits: €429m
Wine: €313m
Sparkling wine: €0
Beer: €575m
Total: €1.3bn
5. Sweden
Spirits: €451m
Wine: €532m
Sparkling wine: €0
Beer: €376m
Total: €1.4bn
4. Poland
City centre of Wroclaw in Poland
Spirits: €1.7bn
Wine: €89m
Sparkling wine: €0
Beer: €841m
Total: €2.6bn
3. France
Loire Valley. Image from InWIneTruth
Spirits: €2.2bn
Wine: €91m
Sparkling wine: €27m
Beer: €670m
Total: €3.1bn
2. Germany
Vineyards in Germany’s Nahe Valley
Spirits: €2.1bn
Wine: €0
Sparkling wine: €434m
Beer: €673m
Total: €3.2bn
1. UK
Taking the top spot by nearly €10 billion is the UK, which pays an extraordinary amount in tax on wine, beer and spirits compared to other EU countries. With the average total spend on beer, wine and spirit tax €1.7 billion, the UK pays a staggering 635% more in alcohol tax than the average EU country.
“It’s a little known fact that UK consumers actually drink less per person than the EU average, yet the tax bill they face is staggering”, said Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. “Every Brit that enjoys a glass of wine or a gin and tonic pays nearly two and a half times the duty that their European counterparts pay on average. So we drink less, but pay much more! This is why the UK’s duty bill is so vast, with George Osborne taking taking nearly 40% of all alcohol duty collected across the EU, including an astonishing 67% of all wine duties. It’s time to stop this unfairness. Come on George, Drop the Duty!”
For more information on supporting the campaign click here.
Spirits: €3.7bn
Wine: €3.9bn
Sparkling wine: €460m
Beer: €3.9bn
Total: €12.5bn
Most interesting article. There seems to be a discrepancy in the Italian statistics which add up to €607m not 1bn ??
Hi Mark,
Thanks for pointing that out. There was a digit missing off the figure for beer, which should have read €489m.
Lauren
GET OUT THE CALCULATORS AND DO THIS EXERCISE PER CAPITA I THINK IRELAND MIGHT SHOOT TO NUMBER 1 CONSIDERING WE ONLY HAVE 4.5M PEOPLE
Nice idea, but the statistics are as always misleading, per capita spend on alcohol should be included and for the sake of comparison, duty per litre of BWS at stated percentages should be used. I’m no fan of high duty on alcohol, but this is not a fair comparison and is unlikely to support any campaign for cuts in duty rates.