Commenting on the Government’s latest announcement on changes to the Small Brewers’ Relief Scheme, CAMRA Chairman Nik Antona said:
“Small brewers across the UK have been waiting months for today’s announcement, and now have some more certainty over how their tax bills will change in the coming years.
“With the bold changes to all alcohol duties proposed in the Budget, there is still more detail that needs to be worked on. We are looking forward to working with the Treasury to ensure that the wider proposals work for small brewers, and especially that the new draught beer duty rate applies to containers of 20L and over – allowing for the smaller formats that small and independent brewers most frequently supply draught beer in.
“From the announcement today, we are glad that the Treasury has made a concession on the 50% relief threshold, following representations from small brewers and consumers who were worried about viability of small brewers and knock-on effects on consumer choice under the previous proposals.
“We understand that the changes announced today will protect around 70 of the smallest brewers from increased tax bills. Sadly,
“CAMRA will continue to campaign across a range of issues affecting small and independent brewers, as they are vital to maintaining consumer choice in the UK beer market, which is increasingly dominated by the interests of a small number of global brewing companies.”
ENDS
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is a not-for-profit consumer group with over 160,000 members that has been operating since 1971. Our vision is to have quality real ale and thriving pubs in every community.
Press release from CAMRA
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