Sober Gen Z leaves Britain facing multi-billion pound black hole
The TelegraphClean-living youngsters threaten to blow a multibillion-pound hole in public finances as alcohol and tobacco tax income declines, the head of the spending watchdog has warned. Richard Hughes, head of the Office for Budget Responsibility, has questioned whether assumptions about future tax income from what are often dubbed “sin taxes” are realistic. “Nowadays, you have to ask whether young people are drinking and smoking enough for us to be collecting alcohol and tobacco duties at the current rate that we are.” Around one-third of 18 to 24-year-olds do not drink alcohol, according to surveys from YouGov, up from one in five in 2019. Mr Hughes’ warning about declining alcohol and tobacco tax revenues adds to the difficulties facing future governments, with fuel duty and car tax also under threat from the shift to electric vehicles.
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