On the one hand, alcohol as a drug costs society more than other drugs and I have some sympathy with those who want it taxed in the same way that cigarettes for example are taxed). On the other hand, independent ales tends to not be the main cause of such problems. I'm for high tax on high volume beer (like the £4 for 8 cans of supermarket lager) and low tax on small volume real ales, especially from independent breweries. I'm sure that could be implemented, though less sure it would work.
Thing is, are we trying to prevent cheap alcohol from supermarkets fueling alcoholism, solve the (imagined) gov debt crisis or what? And can we do any of those things without destroying the pub, bar, hospitality and brewing industry in the process?
It ought to be possible to prevent supermarkets from selling 440ml cans of Stella for under a pound without putting punitive tax on specialist high strength beers. Or forcing country pubs into selling a decent pint of bitter for £3.50 to £4.00 just to break even.
Tax on alcohol (like cigs and petrol) has been an easy (moralist) touch for successive chancellors and budgets but we're well into diminishing returns with side effects now.
I agree, it ought to be possible, but governments tend to think in terms of black & white. Alcohol = bad, therefore tax it big. Money = good, therefore tax it big. Culture and small business don't even get a look in.
And so we're now locked into an excise tax escalator of inflation+2% which is then further taxed with VAT at 20%. And the end result is tax of > £1.00 per pint, people buying less beer outside supermarkets, pubs shutting, people losing their jobs, etc, etc.
The ratchet only ever goes one way. This is just one of many examples. Do we ever get to loosen the ratchet and back up to something more balanced and sensible?
The clever reason is that if every point you save on inflation, you increase in GDP. This determines whether the economy is labelled as in recession or not, which seems to be a political weapon.
Without having looked at the statistics, there seems to be little evidence that this measure really achieves anything at all.
Most regulations on drugs hurt the most vulnerable in society.
Tax on alcohol (like cigs and petrol) has been an easy (moralist) touch for successive chancellors and budgets but we're well into diminishing returns with side effects now.
The ratchet only ever goes one way. This is just one of many examples. Do we ever get to loosen the ratchet and back up to something more balanced and sensible?
http://www.shadowstats.com/
The clever reason is that if every point you save on inflation, you increase in GDP. This determines whether the economy is labelled as in recession or not, which seems to be a political weapon.
Without having looked at the statistics, there seems to be little evidence that this measure really achieves anything at all.
Most regulations on drugs hurt the most vulnerable in society.