Beer and pub industry injects £30m into local economy

The beer and pub industry injects £29.5m into the local economy and accounts for 1,304 jobs in Brighton Kemptown alone, according to figures from Oxford Economists.

The information was highlighted by local MP Simon Kirby as he called on the Government to scrap the beer duty escalator in next month’s Budget.

Simon Kirby, who has vast experience of the pub trade from having jointly owned local business C-Side, argues that many pubs cannot absorb increases in been duty, which has increased by 26 per cent since 2008, while the recent VAT increase has also increased the cost of a pint.

The current high rate of inflation means the sector is facing a further 7.1 per cent tax increase, but Mr Kirby hopes the government will ‘think twice’ about the beer duty escalator.

He backs a joint campaign led by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), to freeze beer duty and scrap the beer duty escalator.

He said: “With the beer and pub sector injecting over £29.5 million into our local economy each year, I hope that the Government will think twice about the duty escalator in the forthcoming Budget.”

Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive of the BBPA, added: “The broad political support for our campaign reflects the strategic importance of beer and pubs in Britain. The beer and pub sector is ready, willing, and able to create jobs and help lead the country out of recession – but we need the right tax policies from the Government.”

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Posted by on March 16, 2011. Filed under Brighton Economy News,Kemp Town. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry