Alcohol Excise Duty - Letter to Jeremy Hunt

 The boundary changes that came into force ahead of the recent general election mean that I now reside in the constituency of Godalming and Ash for which Jeremy Hunt is the elected MP. The following is my first missive to him:

Dear Mr Hunt,

As this is my first attempt to communicate with you may I congratulate you on your re-election as an MP?

There is any number of issues of local and national, indeed international, import about which I am concerned however, on this occasion I would like to raise one with which I am sure you are familiar - that is the impending changes to alcohol excise duties. Hopefully, quoting from the chief executive of Majestic Wines will be sufficient to illustrate the problem of unintended consequences that will arise from implementation of the new regime:

"At the time the policy was launched, the Treasury stated their aim was to create a duty system that would be simpler and fairer for wine businesses to administer. In reality, companies such as Majestic will need to invest six-figure sums just to develop the systems required to handle the new approach – due to the number of different wines that are produced and the variations in ABV% – with ongoing annual administrative costs likely to run into similar sums.

"Unfortunately the increase in duty, coupled with the extra burden of administrative costs, could well result in increases to the prices consumers pay for wine. This will fuel inflation further at a time when we believe all steps should be taken to reduce inflationary pressures.

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"We fear that the cost and complexity of these unnecessary new alcohol duty rules could pose a threat to these smaller businesses and the livelihoods of those working tirelessly within them. At a time when supporting smaller businesses and local high streets is very important, this policy would do the polar opposite."

As a customer of one such small business within your constituency - Taurus Wines - I worry that the extraordinary choice offered by such independent concerns will be drastically reduced, if not lost. I urge you to bite the bullet, admit that the policy was ill-conceived, and do your utmost to ensure that the extra administrative burden that would be necessitated by implementation of the new rules is avoided by ensuring that they are not implemented.

Yours sincerely,