Pint of beer to hit £3 as VAT increase hits
Telegraph.,,4 January 2011
Pubgoers will have to pay an average of more than £3 a pint for the first time in history from today, because of the increase in VAT.
The hike could force the closure of many British pubs, which are already suffering severely from the smoking ban, higher alcohol duty rates and a change in social habits.
The British Beer & Pub Association said the increase in VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent would add a further 6p to the cost of a pint of beer.
Along with the 26 per cent rise in beer duty seen during the past two years, the average price of a pint of beer has gone from £2.84 a year ago to £3.06p from this week.
Twenty years ago a pint cost £1.26. In today's money – stripping out inflation – this equates to £2.03.
The trade body warned that the "double whammy" of the increase to duty and VAT was placing "shackles" on the pub and hospitality sector at a time when it could be creating jobs, and it urged the Government to abandon plans for further beer duty increases.