National charity suggests levy could raise £57m per year
SCOTLAND’S national alcohol charity Alcohol Focus Scotland has found that a levy on off-trade sales could help to raise £57million per year.
The charity said that if a Public Health Supplement was set at 13p – similar to the one last used in 2015 – it would bring in around £57million every year due to the rise in alcohol revenue in the country. This money could then provide additional funding for alcohol treatment across Scotland.
This figure – found by the Fraser of Allander Institute – was based on the recent rise in off-trade alcohol revenue which Alcohol Focus Scotland found has increased by more than £30million a year. The firm has claimed this is down to the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP).
As a result, the charity has now called for this additional tax for retailers to foot the bill on, adding an extra tax burden to all off-trade stores across Scotland.
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, deputy head of the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), said: “This report shows the enormous cost a new grocery surtax would place on Scotland’s consumers, something the SRC has already warned would require around a billion pounds in sales to recoup.
“What it does not do is provide any new evidence that the retailers affected by this surtax have seen increased profits due to minimum unit pricing of alcohol, nor acknowledge that the previous surtax between 2012-2015 was not used for public health but instead went into wider Government spending.
“Those who want to see more resources committed towards alcohol-harm reduction need to focus their attention on convincing the Scottish Government to make this a priority rather than attempting to make life harder for Scotland’s consumers.”
Pete Cheema, chief executive at the Scottish Grocers’ Federation, echoed these sentiments, stating that this potential levy would only impact retailers’ business and make trading more challenging for local producers.
He said: “After several years of shock after shock, retailers have been forced to absorb a range of extra costs. Including higher energy prices, high levels of inflation and the ever-creeping burden of regulation.
“If yet another duty is placed on alcohol, the loss of income will inevitably be added to other services and goods, impacting both business vitality and the cost-of-living crisis for millions of struggling households.
“Not to mention pulling the rug out from under thousands of celebrated local producers and employers. If Alcohol Focus has its way, there would be a complete prohibition on alcohol in Scotland.”
Alcohol Focus Scotland has said that a potential policy on the matter could principally affect big national supermarket chains based on of a rising tax dependent on the store’s rateable value.
This model would see convenience stores with a rateable value between £20,001 and £51,000 pay an additional £4,181 in non-domestic rates per year – set at the 13p to £1 rate of the former Public Health Supplement.
Alison Douglas, chief executive at Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “Alcohol Focus Scotland has been campaigning for some time for the additional money from MUP, which currently goes straight into the pockets of shops and supermarkets, to go back into the public purse.
“The Scottish Government has recognised the increasing number of deaths from alcohol – up by 25% in the last three years – as a public health emergency, but to tackle this issue needs appropriate funding.
“By redirecting some of this additional money, we can relieve the pressures that our health and social care services are experiencing and address the 40% decline in people accessing specialist alcohol treatment over the past decade.”
Scottish Grocer is seeking further comments from retail industry leaders, check back later in the day for further updates to this story.
