Gin Act 1743

The Spirits Act 1742, commonly known as the Gin Act 1743, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that repealed the Gin Act 1736 in favour of lower taxes and licence fees.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 as well as a £50 annual license 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, 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, which revoked this act.
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 was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1874.
The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948.