Kent pubs call for cut in beer tax

Bosses say jobs may be at risk if the government fails to provide adequate support in the next Budget.  Mahima Abedin reports.

Transcript

00:00A pub garden. It's a staple in English culture and where many in the county go to socialise.

00:06But the Tudor Rose in Rochester says it's being hit with soaring costs such as beer

00:11duty, making it difficult to keep businesses running and is driving customers away.

00:16We've got the highest beer duty in Europe, probably the world, so cut the beer duty.

00:21And with everything else going upfields all the time, it's getting harder and harder

00:24for us to try and make a living because you've got to pay your wages and everything, energy

00:29and stuff. So yeah, that's the hardest part.

00:31With more than a million people working in the industry, bosses fear that these high

00:35costs could lead to thousands of jobs being lost. Now it's calling for the government

00:40to protect the brewing and pub sector by asking for a 5% cut in beer duty, which would not

00:46only reduce costs for businesses, but also for those that are going for a drink.

00:50There's no denying that the government has been great to support pubs when they were

00:53going through a once in a generation pandemic. But since then, things have still been challenging.

01:00We still have high energy costs, high inflation, you know, labour shortages. So there are so

01:04many things that continue and the government is going to have to make really tough choices

01:08in the budget. But what we're hoping to impress on them and on the general public is the role

01:14that pubs play and how important it is for communities and how sad it would be to see

01:18them close.

01:19Although some from the hospitality industry say that the government's actually been quite

01:23supportive, especially during COVID times. Others say that the price of a pint is creating

01:29an uncertain future for both bars and pubs.

01:33After the government increased alcohol duty in their last budget, the hospitality industry

01:40contracted by about 12%, suggesting that people were really starting to feel the pinch. And

01:45of course, if the industry is contracting, then it probably does put jobs at risk. The

01:52future is always uncertain. And whenever there's a bit of uncertainty about what taxes

01:57or regulations in particular are going to look like in the future, it means it's much

02:02harder to invest and it's harder to hire more people.

02:05But in a statement from the government, a Treasury spokesperson said that growth remains

02:09its national mission, and that's why it's cutting corporation tax and making business

02:13rate systems fairer. They also said difficult decisions are having to be made to address

02:18the £22bn hole the government has inherited.

02:22But for now, pubs and bars are having to stick with the costs until the next budget in October,

02:27where they hope they'll receive the support they want.

02:30Mahima Abedin for KMTV in Medway.