Fancy a pint of Gin?

One of the revenues stream the government have is alcohol duty. What that means is that when you or I buy that relaxing bottle of wine or pint of beer the government get a cut of the purchase.

Last year the government took in £3.38billion in tax on spirits, £3.32billion on beer and a staggering £4billion on wine. In each budget the chancellor tends to raise duties on one or all of the above tipples. Last year they did not raise the spirit duty which is thought to have been one of the reasons for increased sales of drinks like Gin.

However, in the budget of March 2017 the Chancellor announced a hike of 30p in alcohol duty on Spirits. So if you are a Gin drinker then that relaxing tipple is turning into an expensive luxury.

According to industry experts, £10.33 of a 700ml bottle of Gin goes to the government in taxes.

So next time you raise that glass to say Cheers just remember that the government is also raising one too!

AIMS Accountants for Business – if you like the way we think you’ll like the way we work.