It is no secret going out for a pint at the pub costs an arm and a leg nowadays, resulting in an increasing number of people opting for a trip to the supermarket and drinking at home instead. However, we’ve got some good news for you today: some changes have been made to alcohol duty in the Budgetresulting in a small reduction. So, here’s everything you need to know in one place before your next adventure to the bars of London.
While the changes are positive overall, they only apply to drinks served on draught. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a 1.7% reduction in rates of alcohol tax on draught drinks served in hospitality venues. So, it would essentially cost you 1p less when getting a pint on tap.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the MPs: “Nearly two-thirds of alcoholic drinks sold in pubs are served on draught. So today, instead of uprating these products in line with inflationI am cutting draught duty by 1.7 per cent, which means a penny off a pint in the pub.”
However, other types of drinks did not see a reduction, on the contrary: other alcoholic drinkssuch as wine, gin and whisky, are subject to RPI (retail price inflation), roughly averaging at 2.7%.
The increase has not been received well by the wine and spirits industry across the country, with plenty of backlash amid fears of stunting business growth.
When will the alcohol duty changes come into effect?
The booze tax changes will take effect from February 2025.
What other changes have been introduced in the Budget?
Chancellor Rachel Reeves referred to the £22 billion ‘black hole’ left by the Tories in this year’s finances, promising to raise taxes by £40 million.
What is more, she promised to offer £11.8 billion compensation to those affected by the infected blood scandal, as well as £1.8 billion to victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
The Chancellor said: “Together, the black hole in our public finances this year, which recurs every year, the compensation payments which they did not fund and their failure to assess the scale of the challenges facing our public services means this Budget raises taxes by £40 billion.
Any Chancellor standing here today would face this reality. And any responsible Chancellor would take action.
That is why today, I am restoring stability to our public finances and rebuilding our public services.”
“The only way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest, invest. There are no shortcuts. To deliver that investment we must restore economic stability.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also changing the government’s fiscal rules, making it easier to borrow up to £50 billion for infrastructure projects and sectors like green energy. This could, in turn, result in mortgage rate rises.
