Supermarket shoppers buying wine braced for extra | European Markets

Grocery store customers shopping for bottles of wine are being warned to brace for further expenses in weeks beneath new guidelines.

A new waste packaging tax to fund recycling charges will come into impact in April, pushing up the price of many merchandise together with beer, wine and spirits.

The Wine and Spirit Commerce Affiliation (WSTA) has warned that the charges will add an extra price of 12p for a bottle of wine and 18p for a bottle of spirits. This comes on high of a hike to alcohol costs from this month as an increase in tax and duties takes impact.

The alcohol tax will rise in step with the Retail Worth Index at 3.6%, however a new system to tax wines and spirits based mostly on energy can be being launched on the identical time. It signifies that the obligation on a bottle of gin will go up by 32p, whereas wine at 14.5% ABV (alcohol by quantity) will rise by 54p.

The hikes to obligation on wine and spirits observe earlier will increase in August 2023 – the biggest in nearly 50 years – including 20% to excise obligation on more than 85% of all wines on the UK market, and more than 10% to obligation paid on full energy spirits.

Alcohol obligation is paid by producers after they make their merchandise however that is typically then handed onto clients, though product price hikes are at their discretion.

The WSTA says there are “no winners under the UK’s punishing alcohol tax regime” as increased obligation charges can lead to much less gross sales, which suggests much less money to the Exchequer. 

And with new taxes on waste packaging quickly to observe in April, customers are being warned to brace for increased prices on their drinks.

WSTA chief govt Miles Beale stated: “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.

“There are no winners under the UK’s punishing alcohol tax regime – higher duty rates mean people buy less which results in reduced income to the Exchequer, businesses are being squeezed and consumers have to pay more.”

He added: “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 mean consumers need to brace themselves to pay substantially more for their favourite products.”