What assessment it will make of the impact of the rate of taxation per unit of alcohol on the (a) whisky industry and (b) wine industry in …

Answered Asked by Fergus Ewing SNP Lodged 19 Jun 2003

The question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it will make of the impact of the rate of taxation per unit of alcohol on the (a) whisky industry and (b) wine industry in other EU member states; whether, in the course of making any such assessment, it will meet with the government of each EU member state that applies lower taxation rates per unit of alcohol on wine than the UK taxation rate per unit of alcohol on whisky and, if so, whether it will send a minister to the meetings, and what steps it will take to address any differentiation between the taxation rate per unit of alcohol for wine and the rate for whisky.

The answer

Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 Jul 2003 · 25 days after it was lodged, on time

Duty rates, tax differentials and EU minimum rates are matters reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Executive will continue to support the Scotch whisky industry to secure the best conditions at home and abroad.

In the Official Report

No contribution in the Official Report cites S2W-00953 by reference.