BEER TAX FREEZE
At last, good news for the brewing industry, when on budget day, 9th March, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced there would be no increase in duty on beer.
Okay it was a bit short of what the brewing industry had been demanding, i.e. a cut in duty, hut at least the Chancellor has "broken the cycle" of annual duty increases,
Following a concerted campaign, spearheaded by Kent brewer Shepherd Neame, Britain's brewers had pointed out that approx. £1.5 billion in duty on alcohol and tobacco had been lost by the government. And that this loss would continue to increase unless action was taken to make "bootlegging" of goods from lower duty countries, such as France and Belgium, less financially attractive.
Whilst the duty "freeze" is seen as a positive action, immediately after the budget Whitbread announced a 2.5% wholesale price increase! Though this increase is just below current inflation, its timing could not have been worse, and does nothing to help the brewers' case for duty harmonisation with our European neighbours. "On the one hand they're asking for a reduction in duty," says CAMRA Read of Campaigns, Mike Benner, "on the other they're putting up prices. The Treasury does notice this sort of thing, surprisingly enough, and it does our case no good."
There is also a move to lower the "indicative limit" of beer which can be imported duty-paid before it is assumed that it is to be resold, from 110 litres to 50 litres. Here's to European unity!!
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