Wed 18th Mar 2015 - Osborne takes another penny off beer duty Osborne takes another penny off beer duty: Chancellor George Osborne has slashed duty on beer by a penny for the third consecutive year. Osborne is also cutting cider duty and whisky duty by 2%, with wine duty frozen. CAMRA chief executive Tim Page said: “CAMRA is delighted with today’s hat-trick of an unprecedented third consecutive cut in beer tax, with another penny of a pint, which will be welcomed by millions of beer-drinkers across the country. The last two cuts have already had a huge impact, saving over 1,000 pubs from closure and keeping the price of a pub pint down. Independent research by CEBR forecasts that the price of a pub pint will now be more than 20p cheaper than it would have been had the beer duty escalator remained in place. A third cut in beer tax is a huge vote of confidence in the importance of pubs and brewing. It will help ensure the sector returns to long term growth after many years of pub closures and falling beer sales, caused in part by a 42% beer tax increase between 2008 and 2012, and throw a lifeline to struggling community pubs across the country. Britain is known around the world for great pubs and real ale, and we should all be incredibly proud that this industry has just reported growth for the first time in a decade. We hope Britain’s millions of pub goers will head to their local this evening to give three cheers to a historic third cut in beer tax!” Frederic Landtmeters, managing director, Molson Coors (UK and Ireland) said: “Today’s announcement that beer duty will be cut for the third consecutive year is historic, and a move warmly welcomed by Molson Coors. As an industry which contributes £10 billion in taxation each year, it is great to see that the government continues to recognise just how important the beer and pub industry is to the wider economy. The successive duty cuts have not only given a much needed boost to beer drinkers across the UK, but have helped the wider industry benefit from extra investments – including over 16,000 new jobs created within the sector. We hope that the government to continues to work in partnership with our industry to build on these successes.” Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “The Chancellor really is a ‘Hat Trick Hero’. His third, successive beer tax cut shows he has listened to consumers, publicans and brewers. Beer tax is now ten pence lower than it would have been under the beer duty escalator, which he abolished. It will boost employment by 3,800 this year alone and attract new capital investment. It will put 180 million pounds in the pockets of beer drinkers and pubgoers. That is a huge difference. Cutting beer duty supports a great British Industry, which contributes £22 billion to GDP and supports almost 900,000 jobs. It’s also a boost for pubs, as beer accounts for seven out every ten alcohol drinks sold in our pubs. The renewed confidence in our sector is reflected in rising beer sales in 2014, for the first time in a decade. There is of course more work to de done, and we look forward to persuading MPs in the next Parliament that further action is needed to encourage consumers towards our lower-strength, British-made national drink.”