25/01/2011 - Pubs urge freeze on alcohol duty
The Government has been urged not to raise alcohol duty again in this year's Budget after figures showed there has been a slump in sales of beer.
Total beer sales fell 3.9% in 2010, down for the sixth year, largely driven by a 7.5% drop in consumption at pubs, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said. This was mainly because of huge rises in alcohol duty, the BBPA claimed. However, there was a 0.6% rise in beer sales through supermarkets and off-licences.
Declining beer sales are forcing many pub owners to close, harming the local community and also hitting the Government thanks to an annual loss of £257 million in tax revenue for the Treasury, the BBPA added.
Brigid Simmonds, BBPA chief executive, said: "Huge tax rises are having a big impact on beer sales. Beer has always been a rich revenue source for Government - but they may now be cooking the golden goose. As beer duty has increased so dramatically over the last few years, the amount of beer produced and sold in Britain has fallen."
Copyright © Press Association 2011
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