THE Chancellor is being urged to cut the tax on wine and spirits in his next budget.

As the Scottish Government looks to introduce minimum pricing on alcohol to cut drink related deaths the alcohol lobby, which has tied the policy up in court, is calling for a cut in pricing.

Big players in the drinks industry want a cut in tax, which they say will help boost sales and create more jobs.

The Whisky Association and the Wine and Spirit Trade Association have launched their 'Drop the Duty' campaign.

It is claimed analysis shows a 2% cut in duty on wine and spirits would give Chancellor George Osborne a £1.5 billion boost to the public finances next year.

The say a cut would see more cash raised for the Treasury through corporation tax, income tax and VAT.

According to the campaign an average priced bottle of whisky carries £10.06 in tax, and £2.93 on a bottle of wine.

The claim a cut would see the cash raised from the wine and spirits industry increase from £46.6bn to £50.4bn.

David Frost, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said: "If you buy a bottle of Scotch Whisky to celebrate Christmas and New Year, nearly 80% of the average price you pay goes straight to the Government. This is unfair on both consumers and the Scotch Whisky industry.

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: "By cutting the duty on wine and spirits at the next Budget the Chancellor would provide welcome relief for the British public, boost jobs and growth and generate an additional £1.5bn for the public finances.

"It is important that the Chancellor hears this message directly from consumers so I am encouraging all our supporters to make their voice heard by joining the 'Drop the Duty."

The Scottish Government has always maintained the whisky industry would not be adversely affected, as it is already a premium product.

Instead they are targeting cheap, high strength lagers and ciders drunk by people with long term addictions

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "We support the responsible consumption of alcohol, and we value the significant contribution that the food and drink sector provides to Scotland's economy.

"Overall turnover in the food and drink sector is already past £13 billion and exports over £5 billion.

"Given the strong link between affordability, over consumption and harm, a key measure in the Scottish Government's Alcohol Strategy is to introduce minimum unit pricing to tackle the cheap, high strength alcohol which causes so much harm in our communities."