The thorny question as to why Britain taxes home-produced spirits per

unit of alcohol more heavily than foreign wines has been raised by

Highland Distilleries' chairman John Goodwin.

In the annual report of the Famous Grouse producer he says that Scotch

pays 1.9 times the tax applicable to wine. That means that there is 23p

on a single whisky compared with 12p on a standard glass of wine which

contains the same amount of alcohol.

Mr Goodwin adds that the Government's bias towards foreign wine -- the

wine subsidy -- encourages imports and damaged the balance of payments

by over #900m in 1991. Fair taxes on Scotch would send a clear message

on fair taxation to the international markets which contribute over

#1900m in export revenue.

He concludes by asking that the Chancellor in his 1993 Budget commits

the Government to fair taxes on all drinks.