It's small beer from Gordon

l Duty on a pint of beer up 1p l Duty on a bottle of wine up 4p l Duty frozen on spirits, RTDs, cider and sparkling wine l Duty on a packet of cigarettes up 8p l Threshold doubled for small brewers' progressive beer duty l Stamp duty, corporation and capital gains tax frozen by Tony Halstead This year's Budget spelt mixed fortunes for the pub and drinks trade, with increases in beer and wine duty being softened by increased tax breaks for small brewers. The decision to double the duty relief scheme for small independent breweries to a new 36,000-a-year barrel level was greeted with delight by small producers. But pubs and drinkers were disappointed at inflationary rises in beer and wine, which may mean a 2p increase in the cost of a pint once retailers have added their own costs. Although duty on spirits, cider and sparkling wine was frozen, distillers were alarmed at the Chancellor's decision to go ahead with his controversial tax stamp scheme for spirit bottles, in a bid to tackle duty fraud. The British Beer & Pub Association said it was not shocked but nevertheless "disappointed" with the Budget. The association was particularly critical of the Chancellor's failure to tackle the wide duty disparity between beer and wine. "We were looking to the Chancellor to back British beer but what we have is a tax regime which gives a clear advantage to imported wine," said spokesman Mark Hastings. Paul Baker, managing director of the UK's seventh biggest brewer, Daniel Thwaites, commented: "Brown is giving preferential treatment to Australian Char-donnay over the British pint, which to my mind is scandalous." The Campaign For Real Ale said it was disappointed, even at the small one penny increase on a pint of beer. "A penny might not sound much but this week's tax rise follows recent wholesale beer price raises by some brewers which will mean some pubs charging as much as 12p more compared to a month ago," said Camra communications chief Mike Benner. Britain's number two brewer Coors said it was disappointed at the beer duty increase, which came despite Government figures showing that past freezes in duty had actually increased Treasury revenue from beer sales. Brewer Scottish Courage also expressed its disappointment at Chancellor Brown's fifth beer duty increase, saying the brewing industry had put forward a sound economic case to the Treasury. Managing director of cider maker HP Bulmer, Willie Crawshay, said the freeze on cider duty was good news for the rural economy. Spirit companies claim the tax stamp scheme will cost the industry between £60m and £70m across the supply chain per year to operate and will mean a 40p increase on a bottle of spirits. "The Government must honour its promise that it will minimise the costs to the industry and ensure tax stamps are introduced in consultation and in the least damaging way," said Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association Drinks giant Diageo, producers of Bells Whisky and Gordons Gin, said it had misgivings about the case for and the effectiveness of bottle stamps but said it was committed to tackling duty fraud. Other measures in Wednes-day's Budget saw corporation tax, vehicle excise duty and stamp duty all frozen. The biggest tax increase, unsurprisingly, was slapped on cigarettes which will see 8p added to a packet of 20. Small brewers toast Brown's tax breaks Small and medium-sized brewers are set for a boost following the Chancellor's Budget announcement that the production limit at which brewers benefit from Progressive Beer Duty (PBD) is being doubled. Brewers producing up to 36,660 barrels will, from 1 June, qualify for a sliding rate of tax breaks under the PBD scheme. Previously only those producing up to 18,330 barrels or under were eligible. The scheme, introduced in 2002, was originally intended to help small brewers but was criticised for being a disincentive to growth. George Bateman's wholesale managing director Stuart Bateman said that in the past the company had seriously considered cutting production levels in order to qualify for PBD. "I think this is great news," he said. "This will probably cost the Treasury another £3m but I'm absolutely sure the benefits in increased sales will mean the Government will reap that back." Keith Bott, chairman of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), guessed around 20 extra breweries would be eligible for PBD. "In understanding SIBA's concerns that brewers who just missed out on PBD may reduce production, this Chancellor has again proved his commitment to small business and helped gaurantee the future of locally produced beer from small craft ale brewers," he said. But the increase falls short of calls by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), which wanted the limit raised to the EU-permitted maximum of 122,205 barrels. BBPA spokesman Mark Hastings called the move "a step in the right direction", adding: "We applaud this decision and look forward to the same principal being extended to all the nation's brewers." And Camra spokesman Mike Benner said: "This is excellent news for small brewers, who struggle to compete in a market dominated by huge global brewers.