Wine and Spirits Prices Set to Rise in April Due to New Waste Packaging Tax

Wine and Spirits Prices Set to Rise in April Due to New Waste Packaging Tax

Supermarket shoppers buying bottles of wine and spirits should brace themselves for extra charges in the coming weeks as a new waste packaging tax comes into effect in April. This tax will push up the price of many products, including beer, wine, and spirits.

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has warned that the fees will add an additional cost of 12p for a bottle of wine and 18p for a bottle of spirits. This comes on top of a hike to alcohol prices from this month due to an increase in tax and duties.

The alcohol tax will rise in line with the Retail Price Index at 3.6%. Additionally, a new system to tax wines and spirits based on strength is being introduced. This means that the duty on a bottle of gin will go up by 32p, while wine at 14.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) will rise by 54p.

These hikes follow previous increases in August 2023, which were the largest in almost 50 years. They added 20% to excise duty on more than 85% of all wines on the UK market and more than 10% to duty paid on full-strength spirits.

Alcohol duty is paid by manufacturers when they make their products, but this is generally passed on to customers through product price hikes. The WSTA argues that higher duty rates can result in less sales, which means less money to the Exchequer.

"The Government continues to claim that the tax hikes are part of their big plan to plug the black hole in the public finances, but a series of record-breaking tax levies are doing the exact opposite."

"Unfortunately, the pain of price hikes for consumers won't stop there as new taxes on waste packaging are coming round the corner. This seemingly never-ending assault on wines and spirit businesses means consumers need to brace themselves to pay substantially more for their favourite products.