Dry January Could Save Taxpayers £1 billion In Booze Duties

Tuesday, 4 January 2022 10:46

By Dominic Kureen @WriteOnDom

As some Brits give up alcohol for Dry January, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has revealed the burden of alcohol taxes on households facing a cost of living crisis.

Analysis shows that simply giving up alcohol for one month would save drinkers over £1 billion in duties.

The campaign group previously found that almost one third of the price of a pint is tax.

Analysis of ONS data shows that before the pandemic, the average household spent more than £480 on alcohol for consumption at home, and over £430 on alcohol in hospitality venues.

The poorest households pay almost 57 per cent of their income in tax, the highest proportion of any group.

With supply chain issues causing supermarket bills to rise and a looming cost of living crisis, the TaxPayers’ Alliance is calling on the government to cut taxes to ease the burden on hardworking Brits.

Key findings

For 2021-22, the annual total cost of alcohol duties forecast is £12.8 billion.
The forecast cost of alcohol duties for each month of 2021-22 is £1.06 billion.
The average cost of alcohol duties for each household is £461.25 in 2021-22.
The average household spent £483.60 on alcohol (brought home), and £431.60 on alcohol (away from home) in 2019-20.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:

“These figures show how ludicrously high alcohol taxes have left Brits short-changed.

"Taxpayers and the hospitality industry are crying out for politicians to ease the squeeze on their wallets this year.

“Ministers must sober up to the cost of living crisis and cut taxes for hard-hit households and businesses.”

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