Beer duty escalator to be debated in Parliament
MPs are set to debate the beer duty escalator in Parliament on Thursday 1 November.
The move comes after an e-petition to scrap the escalator, which increases the duty on beer by 2% above the rate of inflation every year, was signed by over 100,000 people.
The three-hour debate will include a motion that will call on the Government to review the policy.
Figures from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) show that, since the introduction of the beer duty escalator in March 2008, beer duty has increased by 42% and beer sales have fallen by 15%. Around 6,000 pubs closed over the same period.
Brigid Simmonds, BBPA chief executive, said: "I welcome this decision, which shows many MPs are indeed listening to the public on this issue. This is about consumers - pub-goers, beer drinkers - and licensees who hate the tax which hits everyone hard. The task now is to persuade the Government that excessive tax hikes are the wrong policy, hurting jobs and pubs when, instead, we could be delivering growth and employment."
By Neil Gerrard
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