Business

Further tax on alcohol would have been 'disaster' says Hospitality Ulster chief

Colin Neill of Hospitality Ulster
Colin Neill of Hospitality Ulster Colin Neill of Hospitality Ulster

A DUTY freeze on wine, spirits and beer has been welcomed by Hospitality Ulster's chief executive, who said it was good news for Northern Ireland’s licensed premises and pubs.

Colin Neill said: "Today’s decision is a common sense one and will come as welcome relief to licensed premises across Northern Ireland, particularly pubs, which have borne the brunt of alcohol duty increases in recent years.

"With £1 in every £3 spend in a pub already going to the Exchequer, clearly the decision not to proceed with a further increase is the reasonable thing to do."

Mr Neill said that with over 1,000 pub closures in Northern Ireland since the 70s, it was "worth noting" that while the hospitality industry in the north sustains over 60,000 jobs, more than 45,000 of these were in food and drink – "and our pubs remain a major part of our tourism offering".

"We already had a tax increase on alcohol less than 12 months ago, so a further increase would have been a disaster," he said.

"We are in a period where large supermarkets continue to sell cheap alcohol as a footfall driver, leading to a rise in home drinking and pub closures."

Meanwhile, the price of cigarettes and rolling tobacco is to rise under plans outlined in Philip Hammond's budget.

Smokers will be hit with a tobacco tax that will continue to rise at inflation, plus two per cent, and there will be an additional one per cent duty on hand rolling tobacco this year.