Closed pubs don't pay tax

6th March 2009, 8:25am

The Treasury could be £217 million worse off this year due to its recent inflation busting alcohol duty hikes, says the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR).

HMRC duty receipt figures show that, in January, the Government collected the lowest amount of revenue from alcohol duty for seven years.

This is despite its decision to hike duty rates in March last year and then again in the pre-Budget report in November, a total increase of 17%.

Projected over the course of 2009, this would mean that the Treasury could miss out on £217 million, as drinkers stay away from Britain's pubs and bars.

These figures follow last week's news from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) that a further April rise, on top of the 2008 rises, would lead to a drop in revenue for the Treasury of £1.6 billion.

The ALMR is calling for the Government to take heed of this new evidence ahead of the Budget, saying it proves that the alcohol duty escalator leads to less, not more, revenue in the long run.

ALMR Chief Executive Nick Bish says: "The Government's own figures speak for themselves – the alcohol duty escalator means that the Treasury is losing money and killing pubs in the process.

"Brown and Darling need to take a long hard look at these figures and realise that their twice yearly raids on pub and bar tills are not doing them any good. All they are doing is putting more and more of Britain's hard working publicans out of business and their staff out of work.

"Unlike the big supermarkets that are thriving during this recession, pubs don't bully suppliers into absorbing the cost of duty rises. As a result, the added expense of drinking by the bar is forcing punters away, leading to less business for pubs and less revenue for the Government. It's time for these duty rises to stop. The evidence is clear. Closed pubs don't pay tax."

Related Articles:

• 09 Dec 2009 - The VAT increase will add six pence to the price of a pint of beer
• 15 Apr 2009 - MPS oppose beer tax rise
• 16 Mar 2009 - ALMR calls for ban on below cost selling
• 10 Mar 2009 - Leisure, hotel and catering sectors face long road to recovery
• 10 Mar 2009 - BBPA chief steps down after 10 years
• 04 Mar 2009 - Record number of pubs closing
• 02 Mar 2009 - New poll shows public are backing local pubs
• 26 Feb 2009 - Tories want to save the great British pub
• 10 Feb 2009 - Over 100 MPs back the great British pub
• 27 Jan 2009 - Beer sales down by 8.3%
• 28 Nov 2008 - Axe the beer tax campaign launches
• 20 Nov 2008 - One in eight pubs to close by 2012

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