Gin makers join forces to call on the Chancellor to freeze spirit duty. Credit: Jez Timms on Unsplash.

The UK Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has joined 24 gin distillers to call on Chancellor Philip Hammond to freeze spirit duty.

This move follows an announcement of the Chancellor’s plans to increase spirits duty this month and coincides with the WSTA’s efforts to urge the government to freeze duty on the UK wine industry.

If additional duties are levied on spirits, British gin makers are expected to pay an additional £16m in comparison with last year. The planned 3.4% rise would add another £0.26 per bottle.

“The gin boom in the UK has allowed our talented and innovative British distillers to invest and grow their businesses.”

Currently, 75% of an average-priced bottle of spirits goes to tax, adding up to around £8.05 for every 70cl bottle of gin at 40% alcohol-by-volume (ABV).

The WSTA’s CEO Miles Beale said: “The government has vowed to back British business. Well, you can’t get much more British than gin! After breaking the £2bn-mark, British gin has proved itself to be just the tonic for the government’s ambitions to grow exports of premium British products.

“The gin boom in the UK has allowed our talented and innovative British distillers to invest and grow their businesses, creating new jobs and boosting the British economy.”

Spirit manufacturers have noted that an additional tax burden may decrease the growth of start-ups, which help to drive gin sales.

The UK gin industry is said to have paid more than £750m in duty and VAT last year.