Clause 2 - Rate of duty on beer
Finance Bill
9:30 am
Mr John Baron (Billericay, Conservative)
Welcome to the Chair, Sir Nicholas. I shall keep my comments brief, as I appreciate that time is short.
In spite of all the Economic Secretary's comments about being fair to the domestic brewing industry and the consumer, I put it to him that beer duty is much higher on this side of the English channel than it is on the continent. That is unfair and wrong for several reasons. There is a great deal of talk about how Customs and Excise is coping and doing a great job on smuggling, but the increase in the price differential between this country and the continent encourages smuggling. Unless we can really get to grips with smuggling, as was pointed out on the Floor of the House yesterday in respect of tobacco smuggling, the increasing price differential will significantly harm our domestic industry.
The higher duty is also unfair on the 15 million beer drinkers in this country. I must declare an interest because I am one of them, in moderation. I ask the Economic Secretary what justification he has for the ever-increasing price differential on beer between this country and the continent. Will the Treasury put in place some long-term strategy or policy on taxation? At present, we seem to live hand to mouth, from year to year, never quite knowing where we are with taxation on alcohol. It would help the Committee, and the country as a whole, if we had some better indication of what might come in the years ahead. It would certainly help our domestic brewing industry to make investment plans for the future.