Cider tax: No scrimping on scrumpy

The West Country band the Wurzels today led the plaudits for the decision to reverse plans to raise tax on cider by 10% above inflation. The band had claimed the cider industry was being penalised, but today its members Tommy Banner and Pete Budd, renowned for their 1976 song I Am a Cider Drinker, said they were thankful for the change, adding: "With festival season upon us, now is the perfect time to enjoy a glass of cider with friends – without burning a hole in our pocket." Andrew Quinlan, of the Somerset cider producers Orchard Pig, said a tax increase would have threatened the innovative cider industry, while Henry Chevallier, chairman of the National Association of Cider Makers, said he hoped the aim now was for "stability and sanity" on duty rates, without which the industry would be undermined. And, he added, producers could now invest in orchards as well as innovating further.