BBC: A major shake-up of the way alcohol is taxed could leave many drinks costing more from Tuesday.
Under what the Treasury says are new "common-sense" principles, tax is being levied according to a drink's strength.
Duty will increase overall, with most wines and spirits seeing rises, but will fall on lower-alcohol drinks and most sparkling wine.
Taxes on draught pints will not change, an additional measure designed to support pubs.
Alcohol duties have been frozen since 2020. These changes were originally scheduled for February this year but were postponed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as the cost-of-living crisis continued.
Now with prices still rising, though at a slower rate, the government is going ahead with a 10.1% rise in alcohol duties, and is also overhauling the system. » | Lucy Hooker, Business reporter, BBC News | Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Oh the joyless Tories! Heap more misery on the less well-off, why don’t you? Price fags and booze out of the budgets of all but the superrich. Workers and the middle class be damned!
Thank goodness I gave up smoking over one and a quarter years ago; and, as it happens, at least for the moment, I am not drinking alcohol either: I haven’t had an alcoholic drink for over five weeks. My wallet is thanking me for this as are my lungs and liver! – Mark
Trouble brewing: Rishi Sunak heckled on pint-pulling photo op: Prime minister challenged by pub landlord as he promotes changes to alcohol duty at London beer festival »
