Scotch Whisky Industry Welcomes Chancellor's Escalator Scrap & Duty Freeze

Rosemary Gallagher from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) talks to MFR Reporter Bryan Rutherford. The Chancellor's listened to the SWA’s calls for a tax break. The association's Rosemary Gallagher has told MFR George Osborne's budget speech is good news for the industry. She said: “The news today about the escalator being scrapped and duty frozen is obviously very good news, but it’s really just the start of the conversation. We’ll still be calling for fairer taxation. “There’s always more that can be done, and we will keep in regular dialogue with the UK government to make sure we always get fair treatment.” It's after a campaign against the annual two per cent above inflation rise. Rosemary added: “Independent research has been done by Ernst and Young which found, if the escalator was scrapped and duty frozen, the amount of money going to the Treasury would actually increase. That’s because spending on Scotch whisky is likely to go up as people buy more of it.”