Slash beer duty to save pubs, MPs tell Sunak
SCORES of Tory MPs have called on Rishi Sunak to cut beer duty to help the ailing pub industry.
A letter signed by 68 backbenchers implores the Chancellor to use the Budget to help pubs recover after the pandemic.
The embattled sector provides 900,000 jobs and contributes £23billion to the economy, but will be unable to reopen fully until mid-May.
The letter says: ‘The Great British Pub and the country’s proud brewing heritage are cornerstones of national life.’
The MPs are led by Richard Holden, of North West Durham.
Beer and pub industry chiefs have said the very cautious reopening of bars will cost the sector £1.5billion in lost trade in April alone. Beer duty was frozen in the 2020 Budget, but the MPs are now calling for a ‘significant’ cut.
UK drinkers pay £3.6billion in the duty each year – more than Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland and Ireland combined.
The MPs say currently £1 in every £3 spent in a pub goes to the Treasury in taxes.
It comes as more than 200 hospitality and pub bosses warned the Chancellor that thousands of businesses will go under without urgent support. They predict that two-thirds will go bust by the end of May without financial help.
Firms are said to be spending an average of £10,000 a month while closed and gaining no income.
In a letter to Mr Sunak, UK Hospitality, the British Beer And Pub Association and the British Institute of Innkeeping called for an extension of the furlough and VAT rate relief schemes and a full business rate holiday for 2021/22.