THE price of a pub pint could fall as Rishi Sunak considers cutting alcohol duty in the Budget next week.
Boris Johnson was urged by MPs yesterday to instead slap the tax on supermarket booze instead.
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The move could see 14p added to the price of a supermarket can and 36p knocked off the cost of a pint down the pub.
Brits have flocked to supermarket giants to get their hands on booze throughout the pandemic, but pubs have been closed for several months under lockdown restrictions.
Changes to alcohol duty could boost pub sales by 100 million pints a year, the Social Market Foundation said last week.
The think tank went on to suggest the sales boost could be enough to stop thousands of boozers from closing their doors for good once restrictions are lifted.
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The Treasury undertook a review on alcohol duty last year, and is said to be mulling over the findings.
For several Budgets in a row now, the Treasury has chosen to freeze alcohol duty.
But pubs are begging the Chancellor for more support to help them stay afloat until they can reopen in April for outdoor bookings, and return for indoor service in May.
At PMQs yesterday the PM said cutting pub booze tax and raising supermarket prices was “an extremely good point which I’m sure will be heard with great interest around the country”.
He went on: “There is such a review being carried out, after consulting owners and brewers and I know that the Chancellor is looking very closely at the findings”.
Kate Nicholls from trade body UK Hospitality said: “We have been pushing for a separate rate for on-trade alcohol for a while, so this would be extremely positive.
“It would cut costs for businesses at a time when they dearly need all the support they can get and it should help stimulate demand and give customers a break after a difficult year.”
The last time booze taxes changed was in February 2019 for wine and March 2017 for spirits.
Beer and cider duty has been frozen since March 2017.
Rishi Sunak is set to reveal his Budget to the nation next week on March 3, which may include an extension to the Stamp Duty holiday and to a £20 a week Universal Credit uplift.
Earlier this week, the PM unveiled his roadmap to ease England out of lockdown, including when pubs, restaurants and hairdressers can reopen.
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Some pubs have already started accepting bookings for the provisional dates and punters are snapping them up.
But customers will have to follow a strict set of rules when pubs and restaurants do open again.
However, the hated 10pm curfew will be scrapped and drinkers won’t have to order a substantial meal with their alcohol, putting an end to the Scotch egg debate.
Boris Johnson hints Chancellor Rishi Sunak could slash tax on pints in next week’s Budget
