14 March 2014
Waveney MP Peter Aldous has backed calls for a freeze or further reduction in beer duty on the brewing and pub sector.
Ahead of the Budget on 19th March, Mr Aldous has written to the Treasury in support for beer and community pubs by freezing beer duty.
In his letter to Sajid Javid, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Aldous points out that a beer duty is essential to:-
- Retain more than 900,000 jobs dependent on a thriving beer and pub sector;
- Grow the value added by beer and pubs to the UK economy from the current level of £22 billion a year;
- Ensure that the annual £3.4 billion contribution from beer duty to Government tax revenues is not eroded as a result of falling production.
The need to take action is made further more important by the fact that there has been a decrease in investment in the beer industry, a poor harvest, a rise in energy costs and a fall in household incomes, which have led a third of pubs to close in the last four years.
It is based on careful consideration of these factors that Aldous is urging for a freeze in beer duty before decisions in the forthcoming Budget.
Mr Aldous commented:
“Pubs make an important contribution to local communities and the wider economy - they provide both local employment and promote responsible drinking. They are part of the fabric of local life and an important source of enterprise, business and community action. I have witnessed first-hand the consequences of this alleviated tax in the Waveney area and believe that this is an opportunity to bring fairness into the pub industry and support breweries.”
