London School of Economics students raised their glasses to our Call Time on Duty campaign. In the historic George IV pub in Portugal Street, opposite the LSE, they asked the Chancellor George Osborne to cut the duty on wine and spirits in this country, some of the highest alcohol tax rates in Europe.
‘Let’s be frank,’ says LSE student Chris Hulm, ‘even if we disregard the obvious opinions of penniless students pursuing their next “vodka double”, a tax system that dictates 79% of a bottle of spirits and 57% of a bottle of wine is sheer folly. We are heading towards the farcical situation where British citizens will pay more tax on wine and spirits than our European counterparts, but consume less.’
‘It’s high time this is rectified,’ says Hulm, ‘in order to promote responsible consumption for taxpayers, and more bang for the buck where the Treasury is concerned.’
Just click on this link and insert your postcode and a letter will be automatically sent to your local MP calling for him to help act on bringing down the duty on wine and spirits. Cheers to that!