'Smoking ban: pubs entitled to cut in business rates'

Related tags Smoking ban Broadsheet

Pubs across the country have lost so much trade as a result of the smoking ban that some are now entitled to a tax cut. The hardest-hit...

Pubs across the country have lost so much trade as a result of the smoking ban that some are now entitled to a tax cut. The hardest-hit establishments could be in line for reductions in their business rates, potentially worth thousands of pounds a year, according to newly-disclosed official documents. The decision has come about because tax inspectors, after consulting legal counsel, now accept that the smoking ban represents a "material change" to the trading position of pubs - The Sunday Telegraph

Punch chief executive Giles Thorley is "delighted" by last week's interest rate cut. "Such a dramatic cut has to be a good thing and should have a positive effect on sentiment," he says. "People should feel more inclined to go out and have a great Christmas," he says. Profiled in The Sunday Telegraph, Thorley says his upbeat view is justified. "When consumers are less confident, we're going to have to be on our best game to make sure we give them a reason to want to go out if they are going out less often. But pubs are incredibly resilient businesses. They have survived wars, recessions and new legislation on smoking and drink-driving but they're still one of the strongest bastions of consumer Britain" - The Sunday Telegraph

The Sunday Times property section describes the fact that five pubs across the country close every day as "bad news for boozers, but a tonic if you're looking to create the perfect family home". They are large buildings, often historic, and frequently come with a decent chunk of land. They are also cheap - Greene & Co, an agency that specialises in selling licensed premises, has several for £50,000; the most expensive of 236 on its list is priced at £575,000 - The Sunday Times

Scotland's commitment to keep alcohol away from children has been questioned after it emerged just 47 licensees were last year convicted of selling to under-18s. New Government figures showed that nearly half of all prosecutions brought for the offence failed in 2007-8, despite a high-profile political drive to stamp out underage drinking - Scotland on Sunday

Every three days a child under 10 is treated in hospital for the effects of alcohol, new government figures show. According to the data, 648 children under 10 have been treated in accident and emergency wards for alcohol-related illness in the past five years. They were among 24,000 under16s who drank so much that they needed hospital help - The Sunday Times

Pubs have been warned of a potentially lethal bootleg booze scam in the run-up to Christmas. Counterfeit spirits from Eastern Europe are being sold for a fraction of the normal cost, but laced with toxic levels of methanol - a chemical that can cause blindness and even death. Kirov and Glen's vodka are among the spirits to be switched - Sunday Mirror

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