Calls for duty freeze to safeguard future of British beer
The future of the British beer industry could be under threat unless the government acts on duty immediately, according to experts.
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has called on the government to stop using the beer industry as a "cash cow" or risk an irreversible decline in sales in pubs.
In a meeting to discuss its Budget submission with economic secretary John Healy last week, the BBPA called on Chancellor Gordon Brown to freeze duty rates to encourage growth in the beer sector.
It argued that the result will be more beer sales with no decline in revenue for the government.
But it warned that no action could lead to beer becoming even more expensive in pubs meaning that consumers could choose to drink cheap booze at home instead.
Mark Hastings, director of communications at the BBPA, said: "The government should be looking to support and encourage British beer. By freezing duty tax revenue will increase and the domestic beer and pub market will enjoy increased stability.
"We have to make the government understand the importance of beer in the economy of this country and stop treating it like a 'cash cow'. It doesn't put special taxes on the IT or financial services sectors."
Mike Benner, spokesman for consumer group the Campaign for Real Ale, agreed. "The only way to stimulate the beer market is for brewers to save money on excise duty and then pass those savings on to consumers with regards to the price of beer," he said.
Caroline Nodder, spokeswoman for the British Institute of Innkeeping, said: "We totally back the BBPA's stance. High prices of beer are damaging for our members and affect the beer industry's image. We know cut-price booze is coming in from abroad and being sold to underage kids with no regulation."
Licensees agree freezing beer duty would be a positive step. Jayne Wells, licensee of the Middleton Arms in Pickering, Yorkshire said: "We buy a lot of local beer and our regulars always want good local beer."
The BBPA has also accused the government of favouring imported wine over British-brewed beer.
Beer duty is currently charged according to the ABV - the stronger the beer, the more duty is charged, while wine is charged at a cheaper flat rate.
The BBPA has argued for beer to be taxed in the same way as wine, a move it said will save the government £280m a year in revenue, nearly 3p on a pint of beer.
"We have this curious, almost, perverse situation of the government favouring wine over beer," Mr Hastings said.
Beer contributes nearly £6bn a year in excise duty and VAT, nearly half the total tax revenue from the entire drinks market.
