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| Whisky tax hike is bad news for Airdrie | |
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Alex has condemned Chancellor Alistair Darling’s decision to increase duty on whisky by 9% - a move which will damage Scotland’s whisky industry. Coming just days after Airdrie’s Inver House Distillery was named International Distiller of the Year, Alex has said that this tax hike is extremely bad news, particularly given the predicted downturn in the economy. He commented: “This is bad news for Airdrie – the Chancellor is slapping even higher taxes on one of our major local employers. This was his first budget, and hopefully will be his last. “The SNP has consistently argued that different alcoholic products should be treated differently. We need to tackle binge drinking by putting up prices on most drinks, but whisky is not associated with binge drinking – it is instead one of our most important exports. “Inver House has clearly developed a fantastic international reputation, having recently been crowned International Distiller of the Year. Why does the Chancellor seemingly want to punish success? “I find it quite bizarre that, despite having two successive Scottish Chancellors, Scotland seems to consistently get such a bad deal out of the UK budget.” |
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