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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Beer tax cut by 1p a pint in 2013 budget | Beer tax cut by 1p a pint in 2013 budget |
| (17 days later) | |
| The price of a pint is to be cut by a penny in a surprise reversal of past budget commitments to annually increase beer duty by two percentage points above inflation until 2015. The measure was designed to help the embattled pub industry. | The price of a pint is to be cut by a penny in a surprise reversal of past budget commitments to annually increase beer duty by two percentage points above inflation until 2015. The measure was designed to help the embattled pub industry. |
| The duty on all other types of alcohol will rise in line with the so-called "duty escalator" – an increase in duty on alcohol every year set at two percentage points above inflation. | The duty on all other types of alcohol will rise in line with the so-called "duty escalator" – an increase in duty on alcohol every year set at two percentage points above inflation. |
| The policy had been introduced by Labour chancellor Alistair Darling and was due to run until 2014/5. | The policy had been introduced by Labour chancellor Alistair Darling and was due to run until 2014/5. |
| The pub industry always lobbies hard ahead of the budget, but this year Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the main trade body, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), pulled out all the stops. In backroom meetings with Treasury minister Sajid Javid she urged the government to think again about the escalator. | The pub industry always lobbies hard ahead of the budget, but this year Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the main trade body, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), pulled out all the stops. In backroom meetings with Treasury minister Sajid Javid she urged the government to think again about the escalator. |
| The BBPA argues tax hikes of 42% – a combination of VAT and duty – have been imposed on beer drinkers since 2008. "Annual tax rises on this scale are totally unsustainable, if we are to protect and create employment in a sector on which one million jobs depend," Simmonds said. | The BBPA argues tax hikes of 42% – a combination of VAT and duty – have been imposed on beer drinkers since 2008. "Annual tax rises on this scale are totally unsustainable, if we are to protect and create employment in a sector on which one million jobs depend," Simmonds said. |
| Perhaps the most persuasive argument the industry was able to make was that it was a measure that would not cost the exchequer a penny. "Beer tax rises have been so extreme that a tax freeze wouldn't even cost the Treasury any revenue," according to Simmonds. "With more buoyant beer sales, and the protection of 5,000 jobs, mostly in pubs, the measure would pay for itself." | Perhaps the most persuasive argument the industry was able to make was that it was a measure that would not cost the exchequer a penny. "Beer tax rises have been so extreme that a tax freeze wouldn't even cost the Treasury any revenue," according to Simmonds. "With more buoyant beer sales, and the protection of 5,000 jobs, mostly in pubs, the measure would pay for itself." |
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