Pubs call for cheaper pints as they lobby government to match EU beer duty

PUBS are calling on the Government to match EU beer duty rates as the tax on a pint in Britain is still three times more than the average seen across Europe.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) is spearheading the Long Live the Local campaign, calling on ministers to cut tax on beer in the next Budget and pledge to bring beer duty down to the European average over the course of the next Parliament. 

The EU average duty on a pint of beer is currently 19.7p, whereas in the UK it is 54p for draught beer and 59p for packaged beer.

CEO of BBPA Emma McClarkin said: “The Chancellor gave pubs a much-needed lifeline last month, but energy prices and cost of living pressure continue to bite.

“The UK remains one of the most expensive places in the world to have a pint and Brits pay more than double the beer duty that Europeans do.

“The next Parliament must bring beer duty in line with the European average to help ease the cost of living pressures on ordinary people and support one of the biggest sources of employment and income in our economy.”

As part of the campaign, the BBPA is also urging the Government to reform business rates so pubs and brewers can invest in the future and to lower the VAT rate of 12.5% to help publicans with cost-of-living pressures.

Tory MP Alun Cairns, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, told The Sun: “Targeting European levels of duty is one good way forward but Brexit allows us to be more imaginative too by having different duty rates in pubs, compared to supermarkets. 

“The Brexit Pub Guarantee means 9.8% less tax in a pub and I want this to be extended further. We could go even further that Europe on this!  

“We need to do all possible to support our pubs and reducing beer duty is a key part and working with the BBPA is central to my ambitions.”

The BBPA is also launching the first Christmas advert for the British pub industry, showcasing “the people behind the pint” such as the farmer harvesting or the brewer who has spent months making the perfect Christmas pint.

The ad comes as new data by the BBPA shows a whopping 682 million pints will be enjoyed in British pubs and homes this festive season, boosting hundreds of thousands of jobs across the the country.

It estimates 500,000 casks and 3 million kegs will be sold to pubs this December, of which 80% is produced by the local brewing industry in the UK.