Alcohol duty blamed for 6,000 pub closures

Sky-high alcohol taxes and government red tape have been blamed for the closure of more than 6,000 British pubs over the past eight years.

Since 2006, the number of pubs had plummeted from approximately 58,000 to just 48,000.

In a report by the Institute of Economic Affairs, the “downward spiral” has been attributed to Scottish and UK government policies including the smoking ban and alcohol duty escalator hikes.

“British pubs may be suffering from long-term cultural shifts, but the government policies have hugely exacerbated this trend,” commented Christopher Snowdon, author of the report titled Closing Time – Who’s killing the British pub?

“Taxation and regulation have been the leading causes of the decimation of the UK pub industry since 2006.

“The level of alcohol duty in the UK is hugely regressive, hitting the poorest the hardest.”

To combat the culture of decline, Snowdon suggested halving the UK’s alcohol duty – which comprises 40% of the entire EU’s alcohol duty bill – to bring it in line with the EU average thus reducing the cost of living and alcohol fraud.

Furthermore, he added the “one-size-fits-all policies such as the smoking ban must be reconsidered and that VAT should be reduced from 20% to 15%.

Cultural changes, such as declines in alcohol consumption were also attributed to closures as while spirits and wine sales have remained almost stagnant since 2003, beer sales in pubs have fallen 54% since 2003.

In October, a study found that rural pubs are worth up to £120,000 a year to communities.