WSTA to lobby for alcohol duty escalator scrap before next Budget
Chief executive Miles Beale was speaking at the trade body’s annual conference in London today (25 September).
He said the promise was “ambitious but achievable” and would be lobbying for a tax system that was fair for everyone.
“I think beer has been treated preferably but I believe the concept of the escalator has now been damaged, which means there is scope for us to talk about the same for wine and spirits,” he said.
He praised the work the BBPA and the pub trade had done to achieve the cut in beer duty at the last Budget and said the concept of a duty escalator was now wobbly and “would fall over.”
Low pub sales
Beale continued: “We will work hard to demonstrate that the impact of the escalator weighs heavily on the alcohol industry.
“Pub sales were down 6% this summer, despite the good weather and the break the beer category received at the last budget, which demonstrates the importance of wines and spirits to the pub industry.”
The body was campaigning under the working title, “Be Fair George” Beale told delegates.
He told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser that pubs were a key message in his strategy to put an end to “the last remaining duty escalator,” as they were at the heart of communities and “MPs have to care about their local constituencies.”
Working closer with the beer industry and other drinks trade bodies is also necessary he said, “as the government thinks of all alcohol as one subject.”
