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Contribution to Commons debate on Whisky Stamps

July 6, 2004 12:00 AM
By Malcolm Bruce MP in House of Commons

Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD): Does my hon. Friend agree that we have to put this into context? I have 12 distilleries in my constituency, and the spirits industry makes a huge contribution to the economy and is our major export. Yet the Government seem to be obsessed with a fraud they cannot prove and a mechanism that would affect the industry's competitiveness. We are the leading marketeer of branded spirits in the world. Is it really necessary for the Government to impose this kind of extra cost on the industry unless they can justify it in terms of fraud? The figures quoted by my hon. Friend show that the parameters are ridiculous.

and

Malcolm Bruce: The Economic Secretary is explaining the justification for the Government amendments, but does he not acknowledge that the industry is trying to secure the least bad solution? The industry would prefer not to have any sort of requirement that would add costs, so the Economic Secretary is being rather disingenuous in suggesting that this is the industry's preferred solution. It is the least bad one, given that the Government want to press ahead.

John Healey: The hon. Gentleman needs to be a little patient. The industry has not let the Government forget that it would rather not have tax stamps. I make no bones about that but, since this matter was last discussed in the Committee of the whole House, the argument has changed. The industry has fulfilled its undertaking to work with us, and we have done much detailed and constructive work on the logistics of implementing the tax stamps regime. The introduction of the scheme is still 20 months away, and I look forward to the continuation of the consultation and the detailed discussion that we have had so far.

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