tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post5852464349977978463..comments2024-03-29T07:17:26.082+00:00Comments on Tandleman's Beer Blog: But How Much is a Pint in the Pub?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-16795211037538046762012-06-13T09:53:56.619+01:002012-06-13T09:53:56.619+01:00You make a really good point. Having recently spen...You make a really good point. Having recently spent a few days in Berlin, the situation in Germany is interesting. Beer in bars (I mainly frequented brewpubs) was around €3.60 to €4 per half-litre (at around 4.8-5.5% abv). A visit to the KaDeWe department store (Berlin's equivalent to Harrods) enabled me to buy some bottles of decent stuff for a friend at 89cents per half litre. You clearly can't say that tax is responsible for high pub prices in Berlin. There are more complex reasons I would guess, but the bars were not quiet by any means, with both locals and tourists.Nick Boleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11883386318880818186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-71257086046052065262012-06-12T12:44:02.973+01:002012-06-12T12:44:02.973+01:00Compared with most of these countries, the UK has ...Compared with most of these countries, the UK has a higher proportion of beer consumed in the on-trade and a smaller differential between on- and off-trade. Also, with a few exceptions, they don't have the cultural tradition of session drinking that we have – beer in the on-trade is more likely to be just one or two consumed with a meal. I'm not sure that proves anything, though, except that we're not really comparing like with like. I suppose all it really does is to undermine the oft-heard claim of the anti-drink lobby that "alcohol" is dirt-cheap in the UK.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-27718586242229021082012-06-12T12:28:39.804+01:002012-06-12T12:28:39.804+01:00If you wish to address the tax imbalance between o...If you wish to address the tax imbalance between on and off trade then VAT is more an issue than duty. Duty paid is the same for on & off trade booze. VAT is a factor of price.<br /><br />A minimum price hands money to private companies, the most effective and legal method in the EU to have a floor price is to raise duty to the floor price.<br /><br />UK beer tax may be higher than other EU states, but the UK is an autonomous state with a range of differences in both tax and state spend. I like the idea of paying less beer tax, just like council tax, income tax, fuel tax & VAT. I'd like my dear old Mum to find the hospitals open too. In the great scheme of things beer tax is way down the list of things that annoy me.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-16415995106360822452012-06-12T11:47:02.169+01:002012-06-12T11:47:02.169+01:00I think it is the nature of business that were tax...I think it is the nature of business that were tax to go down it wouldn't benefit the consumer directly as the price of a pint would likely stay the same. <br /><br />The 24p per pint would go into the pockets of the brewers and publicans, which is of course a good thing so that more pubs and brewers can increase their profit margins and remain viable concerns.Alistair Reecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15929927359428659775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-88978974409719343982012-06-12T11:32:22.672+01:002012-06-12T11:32:22.672+01:00I don't suppose tax matters that much provided...I don't suppose tax matters that much provided what you pay is reasonable and affordable and that absolute tax doesn't give the whole picture.Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-71410404900241617872012-06-12T11:26:48.800+01:002012-06-12T11:26:48.800+01:00I am never really sure of the validity of such tab...I am never really sure of the validity of such tables given the disparity in the cost of beer from one country to the next.<br /><br />Let's take the Czech Republic though, an average half litre of lager will set you back about 25 CZK, which equates to roughly 75p, making beer tax the equivalent of approximately 10.5%.<br /><br />Even if the tax rate was levelled to the Czech standard, the average pint, assuming 3 quid to be average, would put about 29p into the coffers of HMRC, keeping the UK comfortably in the top 5 of that table. At 55p you are talking about 18.3% on an average price of a pint.<br /><br />Surely a more useful Beer Tax league table would be on the basis of a percentage?Alistair Reecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15929927359428659775noreply@blogger.com