Tag Archives: alcohol duty

Eric Avebury

Eric Avebury writes…Society cannot afford to scrap the alcohol duty escalator

By Eric Avebury | Wed 26th March 2014 - 9:01 am

Alcohol and Ulcerative ColitisLast week’s Budget saw the Chancellor renege on the Government’s commitment to tackle the problem of cheap alcohol by scrapping the alcohol duty escalator. This move is a step that society simply cannot afford; not only will these duty cuts result in a shortfall of £290 million to the Exchequer when Osborne admits we are still going to be in deficit until 2018, but with the cost of alcohol harm in the UK exceeding £25 billion each year, our public services – particularly the NHS – can’t cope …

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