SIBA Reacts to Budget
| 12 March 2008 at 15:01 |
| SIBA has reacted with bitter disappointment to the announcement that the tax on beer is to rise by 4p a pint. In his Budget, presented to the Commons today, Chancellor Alistair Darling said the tax on cider would be increased by less than 2p a pint, wine by 14p a bottle and spirits by 55p a bottle. But SIBA chairman Peter Amor said: “This is yet another nail in the coffin of the traditional British pub. “By imposing such a large increase on the already unfair and punitive levels of tax on beer, the Chancellor is driving more and more people out of the controlled environment of pubs and into off-licences and supermarkets, where they can buy cheap alcohol, often at less than cost price. “We have launched a campaign calling on the Government to adopt policies to support pubs, practically the only place where you can buy local quality beers, which play little or no part in the current wave of disorder on Britain’s streets. But the Government is clearly not in the mood to listen. “It is also baffling that cider continues to receive preferential treatment, with less than half the increase in duty compared to beer.” |
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