| Short Title: | Spirits Act 1742[1] |
| Type: | Act |
| 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. |
| Year: | 1742 |
| Citation: | 16 Geo. 2. c. 8 |
| Royal Assent: | 22 March 1743 |
| Repealing Legislation: | Gin Act 1751 |
| Related Legislation: | Gin Act 1736 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | https://archive.org/details/statutesatlargef06grea/page/480/mode/2up |
The Spirits Act 1742 (commonly known as the Gin Act 1743) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (16 Geo. 2. c. 8) repealing the Gin Act 1736 in favour of lower taxes and licence fees.
The Gin Act 1736 attempted to curb gin consumption by instituting a 20 shilling per gallon excise tax 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.[2] [3]
In light of the difficulty in enforcing the law (and the financial strain of the War of the Austrian Succession), 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.[3]