Brits are being hit by huge rise in tax on Scotch whisky — which is double that of France

SCOTCH whisky-lovers in Britain are being hit by an eye-watering rise in tax — which is now double what it is in France.

A sharp rise in excise duty means those enjoying a dram in an Edinburgh pub pay higher rates on their national tipple than they would in a Paris bar.

Drinkers in the US pay just a fifth of the rate in the UK, while in Germany they pay a third.

It is the result of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s 10.1 per cent rise in the duty on spirits in August.

The increase was one of the biggest on record and means the duty on whisky is now £31.64 a litre of alcohol, compared with £15.97 in France and £12.61 as the G7 average.

The rate is as little as £5.50 in Japan and just £4.90 in Bulgaria

Nearly three quarters of the cost of an everyday bottle of scotch in the UK is pocketed by the Treasury in tax.

Distillers are now warning any further increases will be a body blow for the £5.5billion whisky industry. The Scotch Whisky Association wants Mr Hunt to rule out any further rises.

Duties on booze are usually decided at ­Budgets in the spring, rather than at Autumn Statements.

But the association’s chief executive Mark Kent said: “Distillers fear another tax hike, just months after the Chancellor brought in the biggest increase in excise duty for 40 years.”

A Treasury spokesman said: “Scotch has received nine cuts or freezes at the last ten Budgets.”

He added it was “committed to protecting the interests of scotch whisky in trading agreements, ensuring that they face lower tariffs for export”.