Joseph Holt Brewery has decided that the Chancellor has gone too far with yet another increase in beer tax announced in the budget. It has, therefore, announced that it will impose a duty freeze in order to help its customers. Large posters will be displayed throughout Joseph Holt’s 130 pubs and 200 Free Trade customers, confirming they are holding their prices, under the headline “Not Tonight Darling”.
Richard Kershaw, Chief Executive, said “we see this as an amusing way of poking fun at the Chancellor as well as helping our many customers. Pubs play a vital part in the local community yet nationally 6 are closing every day with more than 2000 gone in the last year. At a time when the rest of the economy is getting a helping hand, the beer and pub industry is being singled out in punitive fashion. This current 2% rise comes on top of the unprecedented 18% increase in beer tax imposed by the Chancellor in 2008. In addition, the Chancellor has already announced that beer duty will increase 2% above the rpi in each of the next 4 budgets. This so-called duty escalator must be scrapped as part of a co-ordinated plan to save the Great British Pub.
April 2009
ima electronic media