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Business & Finance

Devon gin maker fears further tax increase in Budget

  • November 21, 2025
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Miles DavisDevon political reporter

1763465499 33 grey placeholder Devon gin maker fears further tax increase in BudgetBBC Mick Skerratt in a black fleece is standing with one hand on the copper distiller which is named Isabelle. There are numerous cardboard boxes in the background and two plugs connected to a power socket in the wall.BBC

Mick Skerratt from Exeter Gin runs a gin school as well as producing spirits

A gin producer and drinks maker is concerned the chancellor might increase tax on spirits again in the Budget.

The previous Conservative government increased excise duty by more than 10% in August 2023 and Labour increased the tax by another 3.65% in 2024.

Mick Skerratt from Exeter Gin said another increase in duty would be a tough blow to take at a time when all other production costs are increasing.

The BBC has contacted HM Treasury for comment.

Mr Skerratt said: “It would put a massive pressure on us as a business and also to our customers.

“There’s only so far that a margin can stretch and profitability will be affected.”

The gin producer said the spirits industry was being “used as a bit of a cash cow for the government”.

He said: “We’re in a cost of living crisis and there’s a tipping point to what people are prepared and able to pay and it doesn’t help anybody – it doesn’t help the consumer and it doesn’t help us as a small business.”

1763465499 33 grey placeholder Devon gin maker fears further tax increase in BudgetCarolyn Harris MP is wearing brightly-patterned glasses, large purple hoop earrings, silver necklaces and a black top and jacket with blue and purple embroidery. She is sitting in front of a backdrop of the Houses of Parliament and the River Thames.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris is the chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on UK Spirits

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on UK Spirits, which was set up to support the industry, said the number of distilleries in the UK had tripled in the past seven years, from 350 to 1,050, which it described as “a modern British success story”.

The group said excise duty accounted for about 70% of the price of an average bottle of spirits sold in the UK.

The group’s chairwoman, Labour MP Carolyn Harris, called for a complete freeze on excise duty in Wednesday’s Budget and for the remainder of this Parliament.

She said: “By not freezing duty we’re putting all distillers in a position whereby they’re going to have their business threatened or they’re going to create unemployment which would be no good for the economy.

“It makes sense to me to freeze the duty so at least the industry can move on from where they are now and start to thrive and survive.”

1763465499 33 grey placeholder Devon gin maker fears further tax increase in BudgetAlan Collyer is wearing a blue quarter-zip sweater and standing in front of a silver vat of beer

Alan Collyer is the owner of Exeter Brewery

Duty on beer has been frozen or reduced at every Budget for the last 12 years and the APPG said the discrepancy in changes to taxation on beer and spirits was unfair.

Brewery boss Alan Collyer said any changes to duty on beer had little impact compared to the wider problems facing small businesses.

Mr Collyer, owner of Exeter Brewery, said: “These pennies here and there really don’t make a significant enough difference to drive people back to pubs.

“You’ve got the contrast between very cheap alcohol in the supermarkets compared to increasing costs of a pint of beer in a pub and it would need substantive change to make people think it was worth going back to the pub again.”