Stop the Beer Duty Escalator, write to your MP

Posted by: pdtnc on: October 8, 2012

• In: Brewing | Random
• 2 Comments

Will the 103,266 signatures be enough? http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29664 Maybe we should all write to our MP’s its really easy to do http://www.writetothem.com

What follows is my my, probably somewhat badly written, bunch of thoughts on the matter to my MP… it took me 5 minutes to do this, do you think you can spare just 5 minutes of your time to tell your MP what you think to the government’s taxation of your beloved pint of beer… thanks

Dear Kris Hopkins,
Regarding the “Stop the beer duty escalator” http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29664
I really hope all these signatures make a difference, didn’t the Govt already say they were not going to change the Beer Duty Escalator? It seems very odd to keep whipping the cash-cow until there is no cow left to whip, thought that may be a worst case scenario! In the spirit of fairness the Beer Duty Escalator is out and out defective and must be challenged along with the whole of the alcohol industry to bring all its sectors into balance with one another. Beer is made a scape goat far too often and blamed for problem drinking, all the beer drinkers I know drink socially and responsibly… as do I! Should I really be taxed on my enjoyment of diversity in beer, should I pay over the odds for this variety that the British Brewing industry gives me, why must I be judged in the same way as an alcoholic trouble causer for the sakes of pleasing the Health-lobbying contingent????
I’m not happy with the way the Govt want to bleed a growth industry in these times of austerity, they need to nurture that growth and keep all Britain’s Microbreweries employing people… think further to the Barley Maltings and the Farmers that grow the barley, each step of the path to a pint of beer has a trail of employment.

I urge you to raise these matters and save our Pubs & brewing Industries from the extreme taxation that could drive them out of business.

Thank you for your time

Yours sincerely,

And here’s the ‘Dust me under the carpet’ reply…

Thank you for contacting me about beer duty.

The Government inherited the largest deficit in the G20 when it came to power in 2010 and the UK currently spends over £120 million every day on debt interest payments alone. This is clearly unsustainable and tough decisions are unavoidable. The revenues from alcohol excise duty make an important contribution to reducing the deficit we inherited, so the Chancellor had no room to change his Labour predecessor’s plans. We know that it would be unfair to place further burdens on pubs and on responsible drinkers, which is why we did not go further than the pre-announced duty increases at the Budget.

I recognise the vital role pubs play in community life and job creation. Ministers have already taken a number of steps to support British pubs. A community right to buy has been introduced, which will enable residents to save struggling pubs by taking them over rather than seeing them lie empty and derelict. We are also cutting red tape to make it is easier for pub owners to attract new business by putting on live music events.

As well as acting to reverse the last Government’s hike on cider tax, the Government has announced that it is going to introduce a new minimum unit price so for the first time it will be illegal for shops to sell alcohol for less than this set price per unit.

Groups such as the Campaign for Real Ale and the British Beer and Pub Association have welcomed the work that the Government has done to date, such as the review of alcohol taxation in November 2010. CAMRA’s figures also show that the net rate of pub closures has slowed dramatically over the past two years.

Please be assured that Treasury Ministers are aware of the broader concerns you raise.

Best wishes

Kris Hopkins

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Tags: beer, Beer Duty, Beer Duty Escalator, Brewing, pubs, tax, taxation