AS Scots lay into their bottle of whisky for the New Year, new research suggests that they overwhelmingly resent that 76 per cent of the purchase price is tax.

A poll conducted on behalf of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), shows that 92 per cent said that they believed the current tax paid on an average priced bottle of whisky in the UK, £9.91, was unfair.

More than three-quarters of the price of a bottle of Scotch is tax paid to the Exchequer in excise duty and VAT.

As well as being unfair to consumers, the industry believes that the level of tax is damaging to the economy. The SWA says that if less tax was levied, more jobs could be safeguarded and smaller businesses could flourish.

David Frost, SWA chief executive, said the "bold move" by George Osborne in his last Budget to cut excise duty by two per cent had given a boost to distilleries and across the supply chain.

"But that was the first cut in spirits duty in almost 20 years and was only the fifth time that tax on whisky has ever been cut since distilling became legal in 1832. So there’s more to be done and we want the UK Government to build on that first step they’ve taken," he said.

There are 117 distilleries, employing more than 10,000 people in Scotland, supporting 40,000 jobs across the UK and generating £5 billion in value each year.