21.   The present system, might be defensible if it were the only means by which the Chancellor could sustain tax revenue from alcoholic drinks in real terms.

22.   This is because wines and beers account for a greater proportion of all consumer expenditure on alcoholic drinks.

23.   Excise duty revenue from alcoholic drinks is much less buoyant than total excise duty.

24.   Within alcoholic drinks, excise duty revenue from spirits is declining, as its market share falls.

25.   Intra-EC trade is much more important for spirits than for other alcoholic drinks and such trade is dominated by UK exports of Scotch.

26.   Total per capita consumption of alcoholic drinks has been more or less constant for a decade.

27.   The remainder of this submission concentrates on the changes which have occurred in the domestic market for alcoholic drinks.

28.   Within the market for all alcoholic drinks, the main competitor has been wine.

29.   Yet, spirits continue to be much more heavily taxed than other alcoholic drinks.

30.   The level, and changes in the level, of excise duties for spirits influence consumer demand, even if all alcoholic drinks are taxed in a similar fashion.