tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post2328725443797569296..comments2023-09-20T12:50:40.208+01:00Comments on Pete Brown: Britain's beer tax problemAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03011702209832734676noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-5695551774099217432011-02-04T17:50:48.016+00:002011-02-04T17:50:48.016+00:00Re supermarkets engaging in below-cost selling, se...Re supermarkets engaging in below-cost selling, see <a href="http://velvetgloveironfist.blogspot.com/2011/01/minimum-pricing.html" rel="nofollow">this blog post</a> from Chris Snowdon. He quotes Richard Dodd of the British Retail Consortium as saying:<br /><br /><i>"if you just stop and think about it for a minute, no business could survive - let alone thrive - if it was routinely selling large amounts of product at less than it was actually paying for it."</i><br /><br />I'd be amazed if more than 1% of the total volume of beer sold by supermarkets was sold at less than the invoice price.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-69808662311580378532011-01-25T23:04:56.599+00:002011-01-25T23:04:56.599+00:00I think they are "imaginatively calculated&qu...I think they are "imaginatively calculated" to give the biggest possible difference, rather than just made up.Rob Sterowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870233673933087794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-49852106719869712742011-01-21T09:30:38.230+00:002011-01-21T09:30:38.230+00:00Barm, so those figures are pretty much made up the...Barm, so those figures are pretty much made up then?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-8663750473017180512011-01-20T13:16:38.465+00:002011-01-20T13:16:38.465+00:00> [supermarkets] can afford to lose money on be...> [supermarkets] can afford to lose money on beer<br /><br />This is often trotted out but I read it's a myth - supermarkets seldom (if ever) sell beer at a loss. Can anyone substantiate this, either way?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06542145160404546281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-11061358705554787372011-01-20T09:55:31.237+00:002011-01-20T09:55:31.237+00:00Anonymous, VAT on beer in Germany is 19%. Although...Anonymous, VAT on beer in Germany is 19%. Although the CSU has suggested lowering it to 7% in line with other basic foodstuffs.Barmhttp://refreshingbeer.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-35348046957830591462011-01-20T09:14:06.120+00:002011-01-20T09:14:06.120+00:00Increasing duty rates aren't always passed on ...Increasing duty rates aren't always passed on by the brewery especially the PBD increament that takes place each January. It's always seemed very difficult to penalize our customers for a successful year.<br /><br />Breweries that have witnessed extreme growth, that has passed them through PBD threshold over the last year will have had an astronomical hike in duty in January. Thornbridge have had to raise their prices this month by over £50.00 per barrel to maintain their margins.<br /><br />The future of PBD, which has greatly aided the growth of micro's is also in doubt.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-65053177583598836452011-01-20T06:37:55.501+00:002011-01-20T06:37:55.501+00:00This is a definite problem. Wouldn't want pubs...This is a definite problem. Wouldn't want pubs to die out just because they can't keep up.Top Beer Brandshttp://www.topbeerbrands.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-4152925507501669382011-01-20T05:04:57.446+00:002011-01-20T05:04:57.446+00:00Why doesn't Simmonds say "Pubs need to ge...Why doesn't Simmonds say "Pubs need to get rid of grasping pubcos forcing them to buy their beer at twice the market rate" ? Oh, wait...Rob Sterowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870233673933087794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-77066607612611461722011-01-20T03:52:26.885+00:002011-01-20T03:52:26.885+00:00And as tax rates go up...so does smuggling, hijack...And as tax rates go up...so does smuggling, hijacking, counterfeiting. High taxes are a subsidy to these crimes. And they may seem like the good guys...but they don't give a ripe rat's ass about the quality of the stuff they're smuggling. It's just booze to them.Lew Brysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-76637985305937266992011-01-19T19:23:44.776+00:002011-01-19T19:23:44.776+00:00There never going to stop increasing taxes on beer...There never going to stop increasing taxes on beer, because we love it! and they know we love it and will buy it whatever the cost. We may buy less of it, but we will still buy it. And as prices increase and consumption decreases the government will collect less in taxes, and will think - 'were not making as much here as we were last week - lets increase taxes again a bit more to get more green'Ghost Drinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00753576955816756710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-61921181048855477102011-01-19T16:31:03.220+00:002011-01-19T16:31:03.220+00:00The figures from the BBPA seem to suggest that Ger...The figures from the BBPA seem to suggest that German Duty+VAT comes in at 5.4 pence per pint - so is beer exempt from VAT over there? Even at 2 pounds a pint, 20% VAT would make it 40p at least?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-89435500784948046612011-01-19T16:15:58.478+00:002011-01-19T16:15:58.478+00:00Just a thought, but pubs would benefit vis-à-vis t...Just a thought, but pubs would benefit vis-à-vis the off-trade if the tax was shifted from VAT to duty. A pint of beer in Tesco has exactly the same duty as one in the pub, but only pays about a third as much VAT.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-53739884820107626402011-01-19T15:35:35.865+00:002011-01-19T15:35:35.865+00:00When you look at the business model for most pubs,...When you look at the business model for most pubs, you are looking at GP's of 50%. A 5p tax hike becomes a 10p price hike in the pub. Go on, what other businesses operate this sting?<br /><br />The most successful expanding pub chain is the one that operates with lower GP levels. Supermarkets operate on the lowest margins of the retail sector. Hence their move beyond groceries into other higher margin sectors.<br /><br />A minimum price benefits Tesco. Tax benefits the public purse. The pub industry are shooting themselves in the foot asking for a minimum price. Any government of any colour will go with a tax hike when being told booze is too cheap.<br /><br />The best thing pubs can now do is drop GP levels, and stop telling the government booze is too cheap.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-77760894710253000622011-01-19T15:35:19.012+00:002011-01-19T15:35:19.012+00:00All I can say is best of luck trying to inject any...All I can say is best of luck trying to inject any kind of rationality into this argument. I doubt there's much that can be done to shift the UK away from being a high beer-tax culture -- it's one of those delightful local quirks that prevents the EU from turning into an homogenous superstate.<br /><br />But... would it be possible to move this whole debate away from the supermarkets? Surely any pub that regards itself as in competition with the supermarket is on to a loser from the word go, regardless of the tax rates.The Beer Nuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14105708522526153528noreply@blogger.com