CHANCELLOR George Osborne delivered a major boost to Moray’s distilleries yesterday by freezing whisky taxes.
He hailed the booming sector as a “huge British success story” while scrapping an automatic duty rise which was due to add 42p to a bottle of Scotch this year.
The Budget move followed months of lobbying by industry leaders and Scottish MPs.
The Scotch Whisky Association was “delighted” last night and said the move would “support hard-pressed consumers” and help protect the 35,000 jobs involved in producing the national drink.
Moray MP Angus Robertson congratulated workers and campaigners for the victory.
However, the SNP’s Westminster leader added that 80% of the price of a bottle of Scotch would continue to come from Treasury taxes.
Duty on beer and bingo were also cut yesterday, but levies on tobacco will continue to rise above inflation.
The final Budget before September’s independence referendum promised a full review of North Sea oil and gas taxes, as well as new measures to help develop complicated fields.
But offshore leaders were left furious that there was no U-turn on a £1billion levy on rigs.
Meanwhile, Mr Osborne named Inverness as one of the regional airports that could benefit from new financial help to attract more services.