We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

One UK Government source told the Scottish Daily Express the new levy would have been “complete nonsense”. Meanwhile, opposition figures said that the SNP needs an “urgent reality check” when it came to managing the economy.

On Saturday, it was revealed members of the party’s Glasgow Southside Central branch – Ms Sturgeon’s constituency – had proposed a levy on “profitable whisky firms north of the border”.

A resolution submitted ahead of the upcoming SNP conference said the industry had the potential for a “significant contribution to the public purse”.

However, SNP chiefs backed down from the proposals and did not include the plans in the final conference agenda, released this week.

A UK Government source told the website: “Introducing new taxes on the whisky industry is complete nonsense.”

The industry is already subject to a 70 percent tax, according to the Scotch Whisky Association – meaning 70p in every pound spent on whisky goes to Treasury coffers.

Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, leader of Scottish Lib Dems, welcomed news of the U-turn.

He said: “We need Scottish whisky to flourish, to help Scotland’s economy recover after the pandemic.

“This gives a signal that even the SNP knows the economic model for independence does not stack up and they would need to rob national treasurers like the whisky industry to keep an independent Scotland’s finances afloat.”

Liz Smith MSP, Scottish Conservative Finance spokesperson, said: “The fact that proposals to raise taxes on whisky even saw the light of day, demonstrates how ignorant the Nationalists have become of the needs of Scottish industry.

“This embarrassing climbdown shows a party desperately trying to silence the extremist, anti-growth factions in their ranks.

“This motion may have been dropped, but the SNP’s harmful disregard for our economy is already damaging Scottish livelihoods.

“The SNP need an urgent reality check on our financial recovery, before Scotland’s economy is driven into the ground.”

DON’T MISS
Boris Johnson vows he is ready to take ‘nuclear option’ with EU [INSIGHT]
‘SNP is against every deal!’ Boris Johnson erupts over Brexit deal row [REACTION]
Brexit fury: Macron ‘sold fishing deal to French as victory’ [REPORT]

Scottish Labour’s Finance spokesperson Daniel Johnson said: “The whisky industry will breathe a sigh of relief seeing this farcical motion scrapped.

“Hitting Scotland’s biggest success stories with more and more tax is pure fantasy economics.

“The SNP leadership may have managed to bury this embarrassing motion but their economic strategy isn’t much better.”

The original motion had called on the Scottish Government “to look at the feasibility of raising additional revenue for Scottish public services from the significant profits of sections of the Scotch whisky industry.”

It is estimated that the industry adds £5.5billion to the Scottish economy every year – accounting for around 75 percent of the nation’s food and drink exports in 2019.

The Scotch Whisky Association said that 36 bottles are exported worldwide every second.

In last month’s budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced he was “taking advantage of leaving the EU to announce the most radical simplification of alcohol duties for over 140 years.”

Mr Sunak said the current system – introduced in 1643 to pay for the Civil War – was “outdated, complex and full of historical anomalies”.

The new system introduced six bands whereby duty rates would be fixed based on percentage of alcohol in the beverage.

He also cancelled a planned increase in alcohol duty to “help the hospitality industry right now.”

Karen Betts, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, welcomed the freeze on alcohol duty as “confirmation that the UK Government wants to support one of Scotland’s most important industries and will take action to protect jobs, investment and exports, and to bolster the recovery in hospitality and tourism.

But she claimed the new duty system means that Scotch Whisky “will continue to be put at a competitive disadvantage against beer and cider”, owing to its higher alcohol content.

Source: Read Full Article