The Spirits Act 1742 (commonly known as the Gin Act 1743) was an Act of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

( 16 Geo. 2. c. 8) repealing the

Gin Act 1736 The Spirit Duties Act 1735 (commonly known as the Gin Act of 1736) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of Great Britain establishing a retail tax on gin and annual licenses for gin sellers. Designed to curb gin consumption, the law wa ...

in favour of lower taxes and licence fees.

Background

The Gin Act 1736 attempted to curb gin consumption by instituting a 20 shilling per gallon

excise tax file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

as well as a £50 annual license (equivalent to £ today) for all gin sellers. The law proved immensely unpopular and provoked public rioting and widespread defiance. It is said that only two of the annual licenses were ever purchased and many people turned to producing homemade gins. In light of the difficulty in enforcing the law (and the financial strain of the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

), the Gin Act 1743 reduced the cost of an annual gin-selling license from £50 to just 20 shillings. The excise tax on gin producers and penalties for violating the law were also significantly reduced. The question of taxing and regulating gin was later revisited by the

Gin Act 1751 The Sale of Spirits Act 1750 (commonly known as the Gin Act 1751) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 24 Geo. II c. 40) which was enacted in order to reduce the consumption of spirits, a popular pastime that was regarded as ...

References

{{Reflist Alcohol law in the United Kingdom Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1742