Scottish MP seeks increase in duty on alcohol bought in stores

Former Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill, MP for East Lothian, has suggested that reducing alcohol duty would boost hard-pressed licensees who are not able to fully reopen their pubs and bars in Scotland until 17 May, and even then businesses will still be under strict coronavirus restrictions.

The call is supported by the Scottish Licensed Trade Association. Spokesman, Paul Waterson, said: “We agree with Mr MacAskill that to help sustain pubs and at the same time reduce harmful drinking an increase in the level of duty charged on off-sales would allow for a reduction of the duty imposed in supermarkets and off-sales.”

Waterson pointed to research from the Social Market Foundation that shows this could be “revenue neutral” to the Treasury. Its analysis set out how reforms to alcohol duty could boost pub sales by 100 million pints a year, providing a lifeline to the hospitality industry and reducing harmful drinking.

The report said: “Publicans have in the past complained that they have not seen any benefit from cuts to alcohol duty because the duty is paid by brewers who may not adjust their prices down accordingly. To examine the impact of such a scheme, we have modelled the effect of a 75% duty discount for the on-trade.

“For such a scheme to be revenue-neutral (in keeping with the terms of the duty review), off-trade alcohol duty would have to rise by 34%. Translated into prices, that would imply that the cost of a pint of beer in the pub could fall by 36p (or 10%), whereas the cost of a can of beer from the supermarket would rise by 14p (or 15%).”