The Wine & Spirit Trade Association has welcomed a campaign from the Tax Payers' Alliance highlighting the "crippling impact" of alcohol tax rises on the British pub.

The WSTA has highlighted the importance of wine and spirits to the pub trade with sales accounting for 41% of the value of alcohol sold in the on-trade - a total value of £9.4bn, according to the WSTA.

All alcoholic drinks are subject to the Alcohol Duty escalator, which has increased alcohol taxation by 2% above inflation each year since 2008. This has resulted in wine taxation increasing by 50% and spirits by 44%, since 2008. It will continue until 2015 unless the Government decides to scrap it in the upcoming budget.

Wine & Spirit Trade Association chief executive, Miles Beale said: "We are facing further rises of around 5% in this year's Budget, meaning that wine taxation would have risen by 50% and spirits by 44% since 2008.

"The Alcohol Duty Escalator has had a significant impact on the wider wines and spirits industry. And any increase in alcohol duty will have an immediate impact on pubs . It is important that we send a clear message to government that the only way to support the pub industry is to scrap the Alcohol Duty Escalator immediately."