Gin Act 1743

Spirits Act 1742 ^[a]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
Long title	An Act for repealing certain Duties on Spirituous Liquors, and on Licences for retailing the same, and for laying other Duties on Spirituous Liquors, and on Licences to retail the said Liquors.
Citation	16 Geo. 2. c. 8
Territorial extent	Great Britain
Dates
Royal assent	22 March 1743
Repealed	30 July 1948
Other legislation
Amends	Gin Act 1736
Amended by	Supply, etc. Act 1743 Statute Law Revision Act 1867
Repealed by	Statute Law Revision Act 1948
Relates to	Sale of Spirits Act 1750
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Spirits Act 1742 ^[a] (16 Geo. 2. c. 8), commonly known as the Gin Act 1743, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that repealed the Gin Act 1736 (9 Geo. 2. c. 7) in favour of lower taxes and licence fees.

Background

The Gin Act 1736 (9 Geo. 2. c. 7) attempted to curb gin consumption by instituting a 20 shilling per gallon excise tax as well as a £50 annual license (equivalent to £10,000 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. ^{[1] [2]}

In light of the difficulty in enforcing the law (and the financial strain of the War of the Austrian Succession), the act 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.

Legacy

The question of taxing and regulating gin was later revisited by the Gin Act 1751 (24 Geo. 2. c. 40), which revoked this act. ^[2]

The whole act except section 12 to "Persons only." was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict. c. 35).

The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 62).

Notes

1. The citation of this act by this short title was authorised by section 1 of, and the first schedule to, the Short Titles Act 1896. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.

References

1. "18th Century Gin Craze". History.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
2. Hanham, Andrew A. "The Gin Acts, 1729-51". The History of Parliament.